S E L 
■* 
at remote diftances from the female, on the fame 
plant-, which in the Melons, Cucumbers, Gourds, 
and many other forts of plants, is cohltant. There- 
fore of late years, fince the doftrine of the generation 
of plants has been better known amongft gardeners, 
they have been curious enough to aflift nature in this 
operation ; but they have had more regard to the pro- 
duftion of fruit, than to the obtaining of perfedt 
Seeds ; though by procuring of the one, the other 
mull of courle receive the benefit. Thispraftice has 
been principally confined to the fetting of the fruit 
of their Melons, and early Cucumbers. The me- 
thod is this ; when the fruit appears upon the plants, 
and the flower at the top is juft fully expanded, they 
take fome of the moft vigorous male flowers, and 
with a pin move the apice which fuftain the farina fce- 
cundans, 1 gently up and down, over the bloflom of 
the female flowers, whereby the farina is fcattered 
into them ; and alfo lay one of the frefh blown male 
flowers with the open fide over the mouth of the fe- 
male flowers, that hereby the fruit may be fufficiently 
impregnated ; and white there are male flowers fo 
fituated, as that they may be joined without pulling 
them off the plant, it is always to be chofen. By 
this method, the gardeners have fucceeded in fetting 
the firft fruits of this fort which have appeared on 
the plants, which before this was pradtifed, general- 
ly dropped off, and never grew to any flze ; fo that 
very often, when the weather has proved fo unfa- 
vourable, as to rendet it unfafe to admit the external 
air to the plants, the fruit have been produced fuc- 
ceflively for three weeks or a month, before any of 
them have been fet to grow, but have fallen off foon 
after they appeared. Therefore this is a convincing 
proof of the necefiity for the ovary of the fruit to be 
impregnated, efpecially where good Seeds are to be 
obtained ; and this will explain the caufe of new 
Seeds often failing, as hath been already mentioned 
under the article of Generation ; fo that many per- 
lons have been deceived by fowing Seeds of their own 
laving, without knowing how it has happened. I 
have feveral times been deceived in obtaining good 
Seeds of tender exptic plants, which have flowered, 
and produced (to all appearance) very good Seeds, 
but many times they have all failed ; which I appre- 
hend was owing to the keeping of the glaffes fo clofe, 
during the time the plants were in flower, as that the 
external air was excluded ; which, if it had been ad- 
mitted, might have aftifted the farina in the impreg- 
nation of the Seed, and thereby have rendered it good ; 
becau fe from the fame plants, in more favourable feafons, 
when the free air has been admitted, have produced 
plenty of good Seeds. 
In the tables here fubjoined, I have, given the com- 
mon Englifh names of the Seed, oppoflte to which 
I have added the Latin names, that the reader may 
with eafe turn to the feveral articles in the Gardeners 
Dictionary, where each fort is particularly treated of, 
and directions are given for their management. 
SEGMENTS OF LEAVES are the parts of 
fuch leaves of plants as are divided or cut into many 
fhreds. 
SELAGO. Lin. Gen. Plant. 687. Camphorata. Com. 
Santolina. Boerh. 
The Characters are. 
The flower has a fmall permanent empalement of one leaf 
cut into four parts at the top. The flower is of one 
petal , it has a very fmall tube , a little perforated ; the 
brim is fpreading , and cut into five parts , the two upper 
fegments are the leaft. It hath four hair-like ftamina the 
length of the petal , to which they are inferted , two of 
which are longer than the other , terminated by Jingle fum- 
mits ; and a roundifh germen fupporting a Jingle fly le, 
crowned by an acute ftigma. The germen afterward" be- 
comes a Jingle feed, wrapped up in the petal of the flower. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond feCtion 
of Linnaeus’s fourteenth clafs, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have two long and two Ihorter 
ftamina, and the feeds are included in acapfule. 
S E L 
We have but one Species of this genus at prefenC 
in the Englifti gardens, viz. 
Selago iCorymbofa) corymbo multiplici. Lin. Sp. Plant, 
629. Selago with a multiplied corymbus. Camphorata 
Africana, umbellata, frutefcens. Hort. Amft. 2. p„ 
79. Shrubby , African , umbellated Camphorata. I 
This plant grows naturally at the Cape of Good Hope 1 
it has {lender ligneous ftaiks which rife feven or eight 
feet high, but are fo weak as to require fupport ; they 
fend out many {lender branches, which are garniftied 
with {hort, linear, hairy leaves, that come out in clufters 
from the fame point. The flowers are produced in 
umbels at the top of - the ftaiks, the general umbel 
being compofed of a multiplicity of {mall umbels ; 
they are very fmall, and of a pure white ; they ap- 
pear in July and Auguft, but are not fucceeded by 
feeds here. 
This plant is preferved in gardens more for the 
fake of variety than for its beauty, for the branches 
grow very irregular, and hang downward, and the 
leaves being fmall make little appearance, and the 
flowers are fo fmall as not to be diftinguifhed at any 
• diftance. 
It is propagated by cuttings, which puts out roots 
freely if they are planted in any of the fummer 
months ; if thefe are planted in a bed of frefh earth, 
and covered clofe down with a bell or hand-glafs, 
{hading them from the fun, and refrefhing them now 
and then with water, they will foon put out roots ; 
then they muft be gradually hardened, and afterward 
tranfplanted into fmall pots, placing them in the {hade 
till they have taken root ; then they may be placed with 
other hardy green-houfe plants, where they may re- 
main till the end of October, when they muft be re- 
moved into fhelter, for thefe plants will not live in 
the open air in England ; but as they only require 
protection from hard froft, fo they fhould be treated 
in the fame way as other of the hardieft kinds of green- 
houfe plants. 
SELINUM. Lin. Gen. Plant. 300, Thyffelinum, 
Tourn. Inft. R. H. 319. Milky Parfley, 
The Characters are, 
It has an umbellated flower ; the general umbel is plain 
and fpreading , and the particular umbels are the fame ; the 
involucrum is compofed of many linear fpear-Jhaped leaves 
which fpread open ; the umbel is uniform ; the flowers have 
five inflex ed heart-flsaped petals which are unequal ; they 
have five hair-like ftamina terminated by roundifh fum- 
mits. The germen is fituated under the ' flower , fupport - 
ing two reflexed flyles, crowned by fingle ftigmas ; it af- 
terward becomes a plain comprejfed fruit channelled on 
both fides , parting in two , containing two oblong elliptical 
plain feeds , channelled in the middle , and have membranes 
on their flaes. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond feCtion 
of Linnseus’s fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 
whofe flowers have five ftamina and two ftyles. 
The Species are, 
1. Selinum ( Sylveflre ) radice fufi-formi multiplici, 
Hort. Cliff. 93. Milky Parfley with fpiiidle-Jhaped roots. 
Thyffelinum Plinii. Lob. Icon. 711. Plinfs wild Milky 
Parfley. 
2. Selinum ( Paluftre ) fublaCtefcens radice unica. Haller, 
Helv. 443. Selinum which is almoft milky , and having a 
fingle root. Thyffelinum paluftre. Tourn. Inft. 319, 
Marfh , wild , Milky Parfley. 
The firft fort grows by the fides of lakes and {land- 
ing waters in feveral parts of Germany ; this hath 
many fpindle-lhaped roots, hanging by fibres which 
fpread and multiply in the ground. The ftaiks rife 
five or fix feet high ; they are ftreaked, and of a pur- 
ple colour at bottom, fending out feveral branches 
toward the top ; the leaves are finely divided like 
thofe of the Carrot, and when broken there iffues out 
a milky juice ; the ftaiks are terminated by umbels of 
whitifh flowers which come out in June, and are fuc-t 
ceeded by compreffed bordered feeds which ripen in 
Auguft. 
The 
54 r> 
12 G 
