SIS 
The fifth fort grows naturally in China, from whence 
the feeds are frequently brought to England. This 
plant is ufed as a boiled fallad by the Chinefe, where 
it may prove acceptable to thole who have not better 
herbs for that purpofe, but in England it is not re- 
garded. The ltalks of this rife three or four feet 
high, and toward the bottom are garnilhed with 
broad, fmooth, jagged leaves, but thole on the top 
are entire. The flowers are yellow like thofe of the 
firft fort, and the pods are fmooth and turgid. It 
flowers in June, and the feeds ripen in Auguft. 
The firft fort is chiefly cultivated in gardens, for a fal- 
lad herb in the winter fealon. The feeds of this are 
commonly fown very thick in drills, either upon a 
warm border, or in very cold weather upon a mode- 
rate hot-bed, with Creffes and other fmall fallad herbs, 
which are commonly fit for ufe in ten days or a fort- 
night after the time of fowing ; for if they are large 
and have rough leaves, they are too ftrong to put in- 
to fallads. In order to fave the feeds of this plant, a 
fpot of ground muft be fown with it in the fpring, 
and when the plants have four leaves, the ground 
fhould be hoed in the fame manner as for T urneps, to 
cut down the weeds, and thin the plants where they 
are too dole ; this fhould be done in dry weather, for 
then the weeds will foon die after they are cut. If this 
is well performed, the ground will remain clean for a 
month, by which time young weeds will fpring up 
again •, therefore the ground fhould be again hoed 
over, and the plants now left about eight or nine 
inches afunder, which will be fufficient room for this 
fort to grow. If this is well performed, and in dry 
weather, the ground will remain clean till the feeds 
are ripe. As foon as the pods change brown, the 
plants fhould be cut off and fpread upon cloths two 
or three days to dry, and threfhed out for ufe. 
The fecond fort is cultivated only for the feeds ; thefe 
fhould be fown in the fame way as thofe of the firft, 
and the plants treated in the fame manner, with this 
difference of allowing the plants twice as much room, 
becaufe they grow much larger, fo thefe fhould be 
hoed out to the diftance of eighteen inches j and as the 
feeds will not ripen fo foon as the other, fo the ground 
may be required to be hoed three times over, but that 
may be eafily feen by the growth of the weeds. 
The feeds of thefe two firft fpecies are ordered for 
medicinal ufe. 
The third fort is a pretty common weed on arable 
lands in moft parts of England ; this comes up early 
in the fpring amongft the Corn, fo flowers and feeds 
in May ; therefore where it is not weeded out, the 
feeds will fcatter long before the Corn is ripe, and the 
ground will be flocked with the weeds. 
The other three forts are preferved in botanic gar- 
dens for variety, but are never cultivated for ufe j 
thefe may be treated in the fame way as the two firft 
fpecies. 
SINAPISTRUM. SeeCLEOME. 
SIS ARUM. See Sium. 
SISON. Lin. Gen. Plant. 31 1. Sii fpecies. Tourn. 
Inft. R. H. 301. Ballard Stone Parfley f in French, 
Berk. 
The Characters are, 
It hath an ambellated flower ; the general umbel is com- 
pofed of fix thin rays or fmall umbels , which are unequal , 
as are alfo the f mailer, which have ten . The involucri of 
both are four-leaved and unequal \ the empalement of the 
flower is fcarce difcernible. The outer petals of the ge- 
neral umbel are uniform \ the flowers have five equal pe- 
tals which are fpear-fhaped and inflexed. I 1 hey have five 
hair-like flamina the length of the petals , terminated by 
Jingle funimits. The oval germen is fituated under the 
flower , fupporting two reflexed ftyles crowned by obtufe 
fligmas. ‘The germen afterward becomes an oval ftreaked 
fruit dividing in two parts , each containing one oval 
freaked feed , convex on one fide and plain on the other. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fedtion 
of Linnsus’s fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 
whofe flowers have five ftamina and two ftyles. 
S I S 
The Species . 
1. Sison ( Amomum ) foliis pinnatis, umbellis credits,; 
Prod. Leyd. 105. Sifon with winged leaves and ere If 
umbels. Sium aromaticum, fifon officinarum. Tourn. 
Inft. R. H. 308. Baftard Stone Parfley , or fpuriout 
Amomum. ", 
2. Sison ( Segetum ) foliis pinnatis, umbellis cernuis. 
Prod. Leyd. 105. Sifon with winged leaves and nodding 
umbels. Sium arvenfe, five fegetum. Tourn. Inft. 308. 
Honewort or Corn Parfley. 
3. Sison [Canadenfe) foliis ternatis. Hort. Cliff. 99. Si - 
fon with trifoliate leaves. Myrrhis Canadeniis trilobata. 
Mor. Llift. 3. p. 301. Canada Myrrh with trilobate 
leaves. 
4. Sison ( Verticillatum ) foliolis yerticillatjs capillaribus. 
Lin. Sp. Plant. 253. Sifon with hair-like fmall leaves in 
whorls. Carui foliis tenuiflimis afphodeli radice, 
Tourn. Inft. 306. Narrow-leaved Carr away with ah 
Afphodel root. 
The firft fort grows on the fide of ditches and moift 
lhady banks in many parts of England 5 it is a bien- 
nial plant, which perifhes foon after the feeds are 
ripe. The root is taper,, running deep into the ground ; 
the lower leaves are winged ; they are compofed of 
four pair of lobes terminated by an odd one •, thefe 
are an inch and a half long, and half an inch broad, 
regularly indented on both fides, and the indentures 
are fawed they are of a lucid green, and have an aro- 
matic odour. The flalks rife three feet high, and 
branch out on every fide ; thefe are garnifhed with 
leaves of the fame form with thofe below, but frnal.1- 
er ; at the end of the branches the flowers are pro- 
duced in fmall umbels. The flowers are white ; they 
appear in June, and are fucceeded by ftriated feeds, 
of a hot, pleafant, aromatic fmelland tafte, which ripen 
in Auguft. 
This plant is found growing fo plentifully wild, as 
that it is rarely kept in gardens j but whoever is will- 
ing to propagate it, fhould low the feeds in autumn, 
in a moift fhady fpot of ground, where the plants will 
come up, and require no farther care than, to keep 
them clean from weeds ; and if the feeds are permit- 
ted to fcatter, the plants will rife without care. The 
feeds of this plant is put into Venice treacle, for a fuc- 
cedanum to the true Amomum. 
The fecond grows naturally among Corn on moift 
land, in feveral parts of England. This is alfo a bi- 
ennial plant, which decays foon after the feeds are 
ripe •, it rifes with an upright ftalk about a foot high, 
which rarely divides into branches the leaves Hand 
upon pretty long foot-ftalks ; they are winged, but 
the lobes are fmaller and finer cut than thofe of the 
former ■, the umbels of flowers are more compact, 
and nod on one fide. It flowers and feeds about the 
fame time as the former, and the plant may be culti- 
vated in the fame way. 
The third fort grows naturally in North America, but 
is preferved by thofe who are curious in botany in 
their gardens. This has a perennial root ; the ftalk 
rifes a foot and a half high, and is garnifhed with tri- 
foliate leaves, whofe lobes are oval, fpear-fhaped, and 
fawed on their edges ; they are about three inches 
long, and one and a half broad ; their foot-ftalks are 
fet with briftly hairs, and their bafe inclofed by a mem- 
branaceous fheath, which half embraces the ftalk. The 
flowers are in umbels which terminate the ftalks, 
and there are fmall ones which come from the wings 
of the ftalk •, they are very irregular in their form. 
The flowers are white, appear in June, and are fuc- 
ceeded by oblong ftreaked feeds which ripen in 
Auguft. 
The fourth fort grows naturally on the Alps and Apen- 
nines i this rifes with a fwelling jointed ftalk near 
two feet high, which is garnifhed with very fine (len- 
der leaves, (landing in whorls like thofe of the Water 
Milfoil ; it branches out toward the top, each branch 
being terminated by a pretty large umbel of flowers, 
which are purplifh on their outfide, but white within ; 
thefe appear the latter end of May, and the feeds ripen 
1 2 M tht 
5 $o 
