PH A . 
dom fucceed, or if the plants come up, it is rarely 
before the following fpring. When the plants come 
tip, they muft be kept clean from weeds, and the 
autumn following they may be tranfplanted where 
they are to remain they love a moift foil and a fha- 
dy fituadon, but will not thrive under the drip of trees. 
The roots of the three firft forts will continue feveral 
years, and every year produce flowers and feeds. The 
fourth fort will rarely ripen feeds in a garden, fo that 
I have been obliged to procure them from the place 
where it grows naturally. 
P H A C A. Lin. Gen. Plant. 798. Aftragaloides. Totirn. 
Inft. R. H. 399. tab. 223. Baftard Milk-vetch, or 
Aftragaloides. 
The Characters are, 
- The flower hath a tuhulous empalement ofl one leaf , which 
is cut into five flmall indentures at the brim. It is ofl the 
butterfly kind , hawing a large , oval, erect Jiandard , with 
two oblong wings floor ter than the Jiandard , which are 
obtufle , and a Jhort comprejjed obtufls keel . It hath ten (la- 
mina, nine of which are joined in one body , and the other 
Jtands feparate , terminated by roundifh rifling flummits. 
In the center is fituated an oblong germen , flupporting an 
awl-Jhaped fiyle , crowned by a Jingle ftigrna. The ger- 
men afterward becomes an oblong flwelling pod , zvhofe up- 
per future is deprejfled toward the under , having one cell , 
containing feveral kidney-Jhaped feeds. ' 
This genus of plants is ranged in the third fedlion 
of Linnaeus’s feventeenth clals, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have ten (lamina joined in two 
bodies. 
The Species are, 
1. Phaca (Bostica) caulefcens erefta pilofa, legumini- 
bus tereti-cymbriformibus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 755. Phaca 
with a hairy upright ftalk , and taper boatjhaped pods. 
Aftragaloides Lufitanica. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 399. 
Portugal Baftard Milk-vetch. 
2 . Phaca ( Alpina ) caulefcens eredta glabra, legumini- 
bus oblong.s inflatis fubpilofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1064. 
Phaca with an upright flmooth ftalk , and oblong , flwell- 
ing , hairy pods. Aftragaloides elatior eredla, vicim fo- 
lds, fioribus luteis, filiquis pendulis. Amman. Ruth. 
148. Taller upright Milk-vetch , with a Vetch leaf, yel- 
low flowers , and pendulous pods. 
The roots of the firft fort which grows naturally in 
Spain and Portugal, will abide many years, and run 
very deep into the ground, but the branches decay 
every autumn ; thefe commonly rife near four feet 
high, and become ligneous. The flowers are pro- 
duced in (hort fpikes from the wings of the leaves, 
but unlefs the feafon proves very warm, they rarely 
flower in England, for which reafon the plants are not 
much efteemed •, for it is not once in feven years that 
the flowers arrive to perfection, nor do the plants 
ever produce feeds in England ; fo that the feeds muft 
be procured from abroad, by thole who are defirous 
to have the plants. 
The fecond fort hath fmooth (talks, which do not rife 
fo high as the former •, the flowers are fmaller, the 
pods are much (horter, and hang downward. 
Both thefe forts are propagated by feeds ; thofe of 
the firft fhould be fown in the place where the plants 
are to remain ; for as the roots (trike very deep into 
the earth, fo it is very difficult to tranfplant them 
with any fafety, efpecially after they have remained 
any confiderable time in the feed-bed. The plants 
fhould be left about fix feet afunder, that there may 
fee room to dig the ground between them every fpring, 
which is all the culture they require, except the keep- 
ing them clean from weeds. 
The fecond fort produces flowers in two years from 
feeds, and the feeds ripen well in England, but the 
roots rarely live longer than three or four years. 
PHAL AN GIU M. See Anthericum. 
P H. ALAR IS. Lin. Gen. Plant. 74. Canary Grafs. 
The Characters are, 
It is one of the Grafts tribe , with one flower inclofled 
in a calyx , having two valves , which is boat -Jh aped and 
comprejjed the flower is lefts than the cup , the outer 
valve is oblong and twifled , the inner is fmaller . It has 
P Ft A 
three hair-like ftamina , terminated by oblong JutHmUs % 
and a roundijh germen flupporting -two hair-like Jiyles i 
crowned by hairy ftigmas , the feeds are inclofled by the 
petals of th& flower, each containing one flmooth J'eed pointed 
at each end. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fedtiori 
of Linnaeus’s third clafs, intitled Triandria Digynia, 
the flowers having three ftamina and two ftyies. 
The Species are, 
1. Phalaris ( Canarienjis ) panicula. fubovata fpiciformi, 
carinatis glumis. Lin, Sp. Plant. 79. Canary Grafs with 
oval flpike-Jhaped panicles, and boat jhaped chaff i Phalaris 
major femine albo. C. B. P. 28. Canary Grafs with a 
white' feed. 
2, Phalaris ( Arundinacea ) panicula oblonga ventrico-_ 
fa, Lin. Sp. Plant. 80. Reed-like Canary Grafs , with an 
oblong bellied panicle. Gramen arundinaceuiip acerofa 
gluma, Jerfeianum. D. Sher. 
There are feveral fpecies of this genus which are ne- 
ver cultivated for ufe, therefore it would be to little 
purpofe to enumerate them here. 
The firft fort is cultivated in feme parts of England, 
particularly in the ifle of Thanet in Kent, where this is 
efteemed as a profitable crop, and may be fo to thofe 
who are fituated where they have water carriage for the 
feed to the London markets, where is the general de- 
mand for this commodity. AboutLondon there is very 
little of it fown, and what is there cultivated is chief- 
ly by lome few curious perfons, in frnall quantities, 
for their amufement. 1 have feveral years fown forne 
of this feed by way of trial, but have never feen more 
than a few rods of ground fown with it, therefore 
cannot give fo good an account of its culture as I 
could with; however, I ffiall briefly give an account 
of the fuccefs I have had in thofe trials which I have 
made on this plant. 
The firft experiment I made was by flowing of the feed 
in broad call: all over the ground, and as the land was 
very poor, I flowed the feeds too thick, which is the 
common fault of farmers in general •, the feeds grew 
well, but the months of May and June proving wet, 
the plants grew tall, and having weak tender (talks, 
a heavy rain which fell the beginning of Auguft: laid 
it flat on the ground, and many fucceeding (flowers 
which happened after kept it down, fo that the whole 
crop was loft. 
The following year I flowed a fpotof ground with this 
ieed in rows at a foot diftance, but the feeds were 
fown too thick in the drills, fo that the plants were 
drawn up fo weak, that great part of thefe were lodg- 
ed by wet in the month of Auguft •, but many of the 
outfide plants in the drills, whole (talks were much 
ftronger than thofe of the other, remained upright, fo 
produced a good quantity of feeds which ripened well. 
This put me on making a farther trial of this plant ; 
accordingly I fowed the feeds thin, in drills made a 
foot afunder, and when the plants came up, where 
they were too clofe I thinned them, fo as to leave 
them near two inches diftance in the rows • and the 
feafon proving favourable, the plants fent out many 
(talks from the roots, which were ftrong, fo able to 
bear up till the feed was perfectly ripened ; and by 
hoeing the ground three times in the intervals, the 
weeds were deftroyed, and the ground kept clean > 
the crop alfo was fo plentiful, as to allure me that the 
culture of this plant would anfwer well to the farmer, 
provided a fufficient quantity of feed was demanded j 
but as there is but a moderate fale for the feeds, and 
that being chiefly in London, fo the culture of this 
plant would not anfwer to thofe who are fituated at a- 
diftance from the metropolis, or who had not water 
carriage for the feeds thither. 
From feveral trials fince made, I find that three gal- 
lons of the feed is fufficient to fow an acre of land % 
and if the feed is Town by a hopper, whofe fpring is 
properly fet, to let out the Led at equal diftance^ it 
will be the beft method of cultivating it ; and keeping 
the ground clean from weeds, will hot only improve 
the crop, but alfo be of great advantage to the future 
crops. 
jo F 
When 
