by which it multiplies, .'..very fad. The leaves have 
feldorn more than, three, or four pair of lobes, which 
Hand at a much greater diftance from each other than 
thofe of - the common fort-, they are of a darker 
green. The lobes are narrow, and are placed alter- 
nately-, the {talks rife nine or ten inches high, fend- 
ing out branches their whole length. The dowers 
are produced in loofe bunches, Handing upon pretty 
long foot-ftalks -, they are fmaller than thofe of the 
common fort, and are of a lighter blue colour. 
This fort may be propagated by feeds in the fame 
manner as the common fort, or by parting of their 
roots in autumn, and is equally hardy with the com- 
mon fort. 
POLI ANTHES, Lin. Gen. Plant. 384. Hyacin- 
thus. Tourn. Ink. R. H. 344. tab. 180. The Tube- 
rofe. 
The Characters are, 
The flower has no empalement ; it has one petal which is 
funnel-Jhaped. The tube is oblong and incurved the 
brim is cut into fix oval fiegments which flpread open. It 
hath fix thick ftamina fituated in the chaps of the petal 
terminated by limar fummits , which are longer than the 
Jlamina. In the bottom of the tube is fituated a roundijh 
germen , fupporting a fender ftyle , crowned by a thicks trifid , 
honey-bearing fiigma. The germen afterward turns to an 
obtufle , roundijh , three-cornered capfule having three cells , 
which are filled with plain half-round feeds difpofed in a 
double range. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fecftion of 
Linnaeus’s fixth clafs, which includes thofe plants 
whofe flowers have fix ftamina and one ftyle. 
We have but one Species of this genus, viz. 
Polianthes ( Tuberofa ) fioribus alternis. Hort. Cliff. 
127. Polianthes with flowers placed alternately. Hya- 
cinthus Indicus tuberofus, flore Narciffi. C. B. P. 42. 
Tuberous Indian Hyacinth , with a flower like Narciflus , 
commonly called Tuberofe. 
The varieties of this are the Tuberofe with a double 
flower, the ftriped-leaved Tuberofe, and the Tube- 
rofe with a fmaller flower -, the laft is mentioned by 
feveral authors as a diftinct fpecies, but is certainly a 
variety. Cafpar Bauhin titles it Hyacinthus Indicus 
tuberofus, flore Hyacinthi orientals. Pin. 47. i. e. 
Indian tuberous Hyacinth, with a flower like the Eaft- 
ern Hyacinth. This fort is frequent in the fouth of 
France, from whence the roots have been often 
brought to England early in the fpring, before thofe 
roots - have arrived from Italy, which are annually 
imported -, the {talks of this are weaker, and do not 
rife fo high, and the flowers are fmaller than thofe of 
the common Tuberofe, but in other refpe&s is the 
fame. 
The Tuberofe grows naturally in India, from whence 
it was firft brought to Europe, where it now_ thrives 
in the warmer parts, as well as in its native foil. The 
Genoefe are the people who cultivate this plant, to 
fur mill all the other countries where the roots cannot 
be propagated without great trouble and care, and 
from thence the roots are annually fent to England, 
Holland, and Germany. In moft parts of Italy, Sicily, 
and Spain, the roots thrive and propagate without 
care, where they are once planted. 
This plant has been long cultivated in the Englifli 
wardens for the exceeding beauty and fragrancy of its 
flowers-, the roots of this are annually brought from 
Gerioa, by the perfons who import Orange-trees : for 
as thefe roots are too tender to thrive in the full ground 
in England, fo there are few perfons who care to take 
the trouble of nurflng up their offsets, till they be- 
come blowing roots, becaufe it will be two or three 
years before they arrive to a proper fize for producing 
flowers -, and as they mu ft be protected from the froft 
in winter, the trouble and expence of covers is greater 
than the roots are worth ; for they are generally fold 
pretty reafonable, by thofe who import them from 
The double flowering is a variety of the firft, which 
was obtained from the feed byMonf. Le Cour, of Ley- 
den in Holland, who for many years was fo tenacious ' 
of parting with any of the roots, even after She had oro- 
pagafed them in fitch plenty as ' to nave more than he 
could plant, fo he caufed" them to be cut in- pieces, 
that he might have the vanity to 'boa'ft of being the 
only perfon in Europe who waspoffeffed of this flower ; 
but of late years the roots have been Tprhad into many 
parts, and as there is no other method to propagate 
this but but by the offsets, moft people who* have "had 
of this fort are careful to multiply arid mcreafe-itj 
which is done by planting 1 the offsets upon a moderate 
hot-bed early in March, and covering the bed in cold 
weather with mats or ft raw, and in fummer they muit 
have plenty of water in dry weather. In this bed the 
roots may remain till the leaves -decay in autumn, but 
if there fhould happen any froft before that time, the 
bed fhould be covered to guard the roots from the 
froft, becaufe if the froft enters folow as to reach the 
roots it will kill them ; and if the leaves are injured 
by the froft, it will weaken the roots. Where there 
is due care taken to fcreen them from froft, and too 
much wet, it will be the beft way to let the roots re- 
main in the bed till the end of November or the be- 
ginning of December, provided hard frofts do not fet 
in ‘fooner -, for the lefs time the roots are out of the 
ground, the ftronger they will be, and the fooner they 
will flower ; when the roots are taken up, they fhould 
be cleaned from the earth, and laid up in dry land, 
where they may be fecure from froft and wet ; here 
they fhould remain until the feafon for planting them 
again ; this fame method fhould be pradtifed by thofe 
who are defirous to cultivate the Angle fort in Eng- 
land, and alfo that with ftriped leaves mutt be propa- 
gated the fame. way. 
I fhall next give directions for the management of 
thofe roots, which are annually brought from Italy. 
And firft, in the choice of the roots, thofe which are 
the largeft and plumpeft, if they are perfectly firm 
and found, are the beft ; and the fewer offsets they 
have, the ftronger they will flower ; but the under 
part Of the roots fhould be particularly examined, be- 
caufe it is there that they firft decays after the roots are 
chofen, before they are planted, the offsets fhould be 
taken off ; for if thefe are left upon the roots, they 
will draw away part of the nourifhment from the 
old root, whereby the flower-items will be greatly- 
weakened. 
As thefe roots commonly arrive in England in the 
month of February or March, thofe who are defirous 
to have thefe early in flower, fhould make a moderate 
hot-bed foon after the roots arrive, which fhould have 
good rich earth laid upon the dung, about feven or 
eight inches deep -, this bed fhould be covered with a 
frame, and when the bed is in a proper temperature 
for warmth, the roots fhould be planted at about fix 
inches diftance from each other every way. The up- 
per part of the root fhould not be buried more than 
one inch in the ground ; when the roots are planted, 
there fhould be but little water given them until they 
ihoot above ground ; for too much wet will rot them, 
when they are in an inactive ftate, but afterward they 
will require plenty of water, efpecially when the fea- 
fon is warm. When the flower -Items begin to ap- 
pear, the bed fhould have a large fhare of air given to 
it, otherwife the ftalks will draw up weak, and pro- 
duce but few flowers -, for the more air thefe plants 
enjoy in good weather, the ftronger they will grow, 
and produce a greater number of flowers ; therefore, 
toward the beginning of May, the frame may be 
quite taken off the bed, and hoops fattened over it, 
to fupport a covering of mats, which need not be laid 
over but in the night, or in very cold weather, fo 
that by enjoying the free open air their ftems will be 
large and if they are well watered in dry weather, 
their flowers will be large, and a great number on 
each Item. 
This firft planting will require more care than thofe 
which are defigned to come after them, for in order 
to have a fucceflion of thefe flowers, the roots fhould 
be planted at three different times, viz. the firft the 
beginning of March, the fecond the beginning of 
April, 
