ROB 
and appear in April, but are rarely fucceeded by feeds 
in England. 
The firft fort is generally propagated in the Englifti 
nurferies, by lackers taken from the roots of the old 
trees, or by cutting off fome of the roots, and plant- 
ing them upon a gentle hot- bed ; thefe will put out 
fhoots, and become plants ; but thefe are not fo va- 
luable as thofe which are raifed from feeds, becaufe 
they do not make near fo great progrefs in their 
growth, and are very fubject to fend forth many 
fuckers from their roots, whereby the ground will be 
filed with them to a great diftance •, and thefe fuckers 
will draw away the nourifhment from the old plants, 
whereby their growth will be greatly retarded. 
If this is propagated by feeds, they fhould be fown 
on a bed of light earth about the latter end of March 
or the beginning of April •, and if the bed is well ex- 
pofed to the fun, the plants will appear in about five 
or fix weeks, and will require no farther care but to 
keep them clear from weeds. In this bed the plants 
may remain till the following fpring, when they 
fhould be tranfplanted into a nurfery about the latter 
end of March, placing them in rows at three feet 
diftance row from row, and a foot and a halfafunder 
in the rows. In this nurfery they may remain two 
years, by which time they will be fit to tranfplant 
where they are defigned to grow ; for as thefe trees 
fend forth long tough roots, fo if they ftand long un- 
removed, the roots will extend themfelves to a great 
diftance •, therefore they muft be cut off when the 
plants are tranfplanted, which fometimes occafions 
their mifearrying. 
Thefe trees will grow well upon almoft every foil, 
but beft in a light fandy ground, in which they will 
fhoot fix or eight feet in one year ; and while the 
trees are young, they make an agreeable appearance, 
being wpll furnifhed with leaves ; but when they are 
old, the branches being frequently broken by winds, 
render them unfightly, efpecially if they ftand in an 
expofed place ^ and when the trees grow old, their 
branches decay, which renders them very difagreea- 
ble, and has occafioned their being rooted out of fe- 
veral gardens fome years paft. This is commonly 
known by the title ofLocuft-tree in America, and 
there are quantities of the feeds annually lent to Eng- 
land with that title. 
The fecond fort is propagated in the fame manner as 
the firft, and the trees grow to the fame fize. 
The third fort is at prelent fcarce in the gardens about 
London, but in Devonfhire it is in greater plenty, 
where the inhabitants give it the title of Rafpberry 
plant, from the young {hoots being covered with 
briftly hairs like the Rafpberry plants •, this does not 
produce feeds in England, fo it is propagated by cut- 
ting off part of the roots, and planting them upon a 
gentle hot-bed, where they will put out fibres and 
fhoots, and become new plants. This fort fhould 
have a warmer fituation than the two former, though 
the ordinary winters in this country never injure it, 
but in very fevere winters their young fhoots are fome- 
times killed in expofed places. It loves alightmoift 
foil. 
The fourth, fifth, fixth, feventh, eighth, and ninth 
forts, are tender, fo cannot be maintained in England, 
unlefs they are placed in a ftove in winter. Thefe are 
propagated by feeds, which muft be procured from 
the countries where they naturally grow, for they do 
not produce any iiere ; thefe fhould be fown in fmall 
pots filled with earth from the kitchen-garden, and 
plunged into a hot-bed of tanners bark if the feeds 
are good, the plants will appear in fix weeks or two 
months ; when thefe are fit to tranfplant, they fhould 
be carefully fliaken out of the pots, and their roots 
feparated ; then each plant fhould be put into a fmall 
pot filled with the like earth, and plunged into a hot- 
bed of tanners bark, obferving to fhade them till they 
have taken new root, and then they muft have the 
fame treatment as. other tender plants from the fame 
countries. 
RON 
While the plants are young, they are more tender* 
than afterward, therefore it will be proper to keep 
them in the tan-bed in the ftove the two or three firft 
years j but when they have obtained ftrength, they 
may be kept in a dry ftove of a temperate heat in 
winter, and in fummer they may be expofed to the 
open air in a fheltered fituation 5, with this manage- 
ment I have kept feveral of the fpecies, fome of which 
have produced flowers in the 'Chelfea Garden, and 
fome of the forts I have propagated by cuttings. 
The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth forts, are propa- 
gated from feeds, which fhould be fown in a fhady 
fituation in autumn, and then the plants will come 
up the following fpring ; but if the feeds are fown in 
the fpring, the plants feldom rife the fame feafon. 
When the plants come up, they will require no other 
care but to keep them clean from weeds till autiimn, 
when, if they have made any progrefs, they fhould 
be tranfplanted on a north border, at about fix inches 
diftance, where they may grow two years, and then 
fhould be planted where they are to remain, which 
fhould be in a cool moift foil, not too much expofed 
to the fun. 
RONDELETIA. Plum. Nov. Gen. 13. tab. 12. 
Lin. Gen. Plant. 206. 
The Characters are. 
The flower has a permanent empalement of one leaf , fit- 
ting upon the germen , cut into five acute points. It has 
one funnel-Jhaped petal , with a cylindrical tube longer than 
the empalement , bellied toward the top , and cut into five 
roundifh fegments at the brim , which are refiexed. It has 
five awl-Jhaped fiamina , terminated by Jingle Jumrnits , the 
roundifh germen is fituated under the ' flower, fupporting a 
fender ftyle the length of the tube , crowned by an obtufie 
ftigma. The germen afterward becomes a roundifij crown- 
ed capfule with two cells , inclofing two or three angular 
feeds in each. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feflion of 
Linnteus’s fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 
whofe flowers have five ftamina and one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1. Rondeletia (. Americana ) foliis feffilibus, panicula 
dichotoma. Lin. Sp. Plant. 243. Rondeletia with leaves 
fitting clofie to the branches , and a forked panicle. Ron- 
deletia arborefeens, tini facie. Plum. Nov. Gen. 15. 
Tree-like Rondeletia having the appearance of Tinus. 
2. Rondeletia {Afatica) foliis petiolatis, oblongis acu- 
tis. Flor. Zeyl. 80. Rondeletia with oblong leaves grow- 
ing upon foot-falks. Cupi. Hoit. Mai. 2. p. 37. 
The firft fort grows naturally in the Weft-Indies, 
where Plumier difeovered it, and gave it this title in 
honour of Gulielmus Rondeletius, a famous phyficiari 
and natural hiftorian of Montpelier. 
The feeds of this plant were firft fent me by Mr. 
Robert Millar, who collected them on the north fide 
of the ifland of Jamaica ; he alfo obferved the trees 
growing plentifully in the Spanifh Weft-Indies ; I 
• have alfo fince received the feeds from Barbadoes* 
which have fucceeded at Chelfea. This rifes with a 
woody ftalk ten or twelve feet high, branching out 
on every fide ; the branches are covered with a finooth 
greenifh bark, and are garnifhed with oblong leaves 
ending in acute points ; they are entire, and fit very 
clofe to the branches ; the upper furface is of a lucid 
green, and the under of a pale green ; they are a lit- 
tle crumpled on their furface, and ftand alternate. 
The flowers come out in bunches at the end of the 
branches, they are white and have little feent. Thefe 
appear in autumn, and are not fucceeded by feeds in 
England. 
The fecond fort grows naturally at Malabar ; this 
rifes with a woody ftalk fix or feven feet high, divid- 
ing into feveral branches, which are covered with a 
finooth bark, and garnifhed with ftiff oblong leaves 
of a lucid green, ftanding alternate on the lower part 
of the branches, but by pairs toward the extremity j 
they have fhort foot-ftalks, and are entire. The 
flowers are produced in large bunches at the end of ijic 
branches ; they are of a yeliowilh white colour, and 
1 1 M have 
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