SIS 
The fixth fort grows naturally in uncultivated places, 
and alfo by the fide of foot-ways in many parts of 
England. The leaves of this are divided into many 
very narrow fegments ; the {talks rife a foot and a 
half high ; they are garnifhed with winged leaves, 
whofe lobes are finely cut, refembling thofe of the 
true Roman Wormwood. The flowers are produced 
in loofe fpikes at the top of the italk ; they are 
fmall, yellow, and compofed of four petals fet in form 
of acrofs ; thefe appear in June, and are fucceeded 
by {lender pods filled with fmall roundifh feeds which 
ripen in Auguft, and then the plant dies. The feeds of 
this plant are ufed in medicine, and are by fome greatly 
recommended for the gravel and ftoppages of urine. 
The feventh fort grows naturally in France and 
Italy. The lower leaves of this are flaccid, and cut 
in form of winged leaves ending in arrow-pointed 
lobes. The ftalks rife three or four feet high, gar- 
nifhed with linear wing-pointed .leaves ; it branches 
out greatly on every fide ; the flowers grow fparfed- 
ly toward the end of the branches, which are fuc- 
ceeded by very long {lender pods which are fmooth, 
filled with fmall yellowifh feeds. It flowers in June, 
the feeds ripen in Auguft, and the plant dies foon after. 
The two laft are preferved in botanic gardens for the 
fake of variety. If their feeds are permitted to fcatter 
the plants will come up in plenty, and require no 
other care but to thin them and keep them clean 
from weeds ; or if their feeds are fown in autumn, 
they will fucceed better than in the fpring. 
The eighth fort grows naturally in many parts of 
England, fo is feldom admitted into gardens •, this is 
an annual plant which fows itfelf, and comes up with- 
out care. It was remarked, after the great fire of 
London, that this plant came up in great plenty on 
' the ruins. 
The ninth fort grows naturally on the Helvetian 
mountains •, this hath a perennial root, from which 
arife feveral branching ftalks near three feet high, gar- 
• nifhed with fpear-fhaped leaves, about three inches 
long and one broad, fawed on their edges, and of a 
deep green, {landing alternately on the ftalks. The 
flowers grow in loofe fpikes at the top of the ftalks ; 
they are fmall, yellow, and compofed of four petals 
placed in form of a crofs •, thefe appear in June, and 
are fucceeded by taper pods filled with fmall feeds 
which ripen in Auguft. 
This is preferved in fome gardens for the fake of va- 
riety, but it has no great beauty ; it is propagated by 
ieeds, which fucceed beft when fown in autumn, for 
thofe which are fown in the fpring feldom come up the 
fame year. The plants require no farther care but 
to keep them clean from weeds, and love a cool ftiady 
fituation. 
SISYRINCHIUM. Lin. Gen. Plant. 908. Ber- 
mudinana. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 387. tab. 208. 
The Characters are, 
The Jheath which inclofes the flowers fleeces both ways , 
and is compofed of two compreflfed keel-flhaped leaves. 
The flower has fix oblong petals which flpread open , 
and have an acute point , and three very fhort jlamina 
terminated by bifid flummits which are fixed to the bafle 
of the fllyle , with an oval germen Jituated under the 
flower , flupporting an awl-floaped fllyle , crowned by a tri- 
fld reflexed flligma. The germen afterward turns to an 
oval three-cornered capflule with three cells , filled with 
roundifh feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fe&ion 
of Linnaeus’s twentieth clafs, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have their male and female or- 
gans joined, and have three ftamina. 
The Species are, 
1. Sisyrinchium ( Bermudiana ) foliis gladiolatis am- 
plexicaulibus, pedunculis brevioribus. Sifyrinchium 
with fword-fhaped leaves embracing the ftalks , and fhorter 
foot-Jlalks to the flower. Bermudiana iridis folio fibro- 
sa radice. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 338. Bermudiana with 
an Iris leaf and a fibrous root. 
2. Sisyrinchium (. Anguftifolia ) foliis lineari-gladiolatis- 
pedunculis longioribus. Sifyrinchium with linear fword- 
fhaped leaves , and longer foot -ft arm to the flower, 
Bermudiana graminea, flore minore cseruleo. Hort. 
Elth. 4Q. Graft-leaved Bermudiana with a [mailer blue 
flower. 
3. Sisyrinchium (. Bulbofa ) foliis plicatis* fpatha biflora. 
Sifyrinchium with a plaited leaf and two flowers in a 
jheath. Bermudiana palmte folio, radice bulbofa. 
Lign. Tourn. Inft. 381. Bermudiana with a Palm leaf 
and a bulbous root. 
The firft fort grows naturally in Bermuda, front- 
whence it had the title of Bermudiana given to it by 
Tournefort ; this hath a fibrous root, from which arife 
fome ftiff fword-fhaped leaves, four or five inches 
long and half an inch broad, of a dark green colour 
and entire •, between thefe come out the ftalk which 
rifes fix inches high ; it is comprefied, and has two 
borders or wings running the whole length, and has 
three or four fpear-fhaped leaves which embrace it ; 
thefe grow ere£t, and are hollowed like the keel of a 
boat. The ftalk is terminated by a duller of fix or 
feven flowers. Handing upon fhort foot -{talks, which 
are inclofed by a two-leaved keel-fhaped {heath before 
they open •, the flowers are of a deep blue colour with 
yellow bottoms; they are compofed of fix oval petals 
ending in acute points ; they fpread open, and the 
flowers, when fully expanded, are an inch over. In 
the center is fituated an upright ftyle, at the bottom 
of which are three ftamina whofe fummits fit clofe to 
it, and the top has a ftigma cut into three parts which 
are reflexed back to the ftyle ; thefe are of a gold co- 
lour. The flowers appear in June, and when they 
fall away, the germen, which was fituated under, turns 
to an oval obtufe capfule with three cells, filled with 
roundifh feeds. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Virginia; this 
hath a perennial fibrous root, from which arife many- 
very narrow fpear-fhaped leaves- about three inches 
long, and fcarce an eighth part of an inch broad, of 
a light green colour, and entire. The ftalks rife 
about three inches high ; they are very {lender, com- 
prdfed and bordered like thofe of the firft, and have 
fhort, narrow, fword-fhaped leave?, whofe bafe em- 
brace them ; they are terminated by two fmall pale 
blue flowers, inclofed in a two -leaved {heath, {landing 
upon longer foot-ftalks than thofe of the other, which 
flower about the fame time, and their feeds ripen in 
Auguft. 
Thefe two fpecies have been blended together by ma- 
ny botanifts, who, it is very probable, have not feen 
them both, or at leaft have not had an opportunity of 
cultivating them, for thofe who have, can be under 
no doubt of their being diftinfl fpecies. I have cul- 
tivated both in the fame foil and fituation upward of 
twenty years, during which time I frequently raifed 
both forts from feed, and have never obferved either 
of them alter. The leaves, ftalks, and flowers of 
the firft are three times as large as thofe of the fecond, 
and the {heath inclofes fix or feven flowers ; whereas 
thofe of the fecond have rarely more than two, and 
thefe do not expand but for a fhort time in the morn- 
ing, whereas thofe of the firft fort continue open the 
whole day. 
Thefe plants are propagated by feeds, and alfo by 
parting of their roots ; if they are raifed from feeds, 
thefe fhould be fown in autumn foon after they are 
ripe, upon an eaft afpefled border, where they may 
have only the morning fun ; the .beft way will be to 
fow them in drills at three or four inches diftance, 
covering them about half an inch with light earth. 
In the fpring the plants will appear, when their leaves 
will have much refemblance to Grafs, therefore care 
{hould be taken that they are not pulled up as weeds 
by thofe who clean the ground. During the firft 
fummer they will require no other care but to keep 
them clean from weeds, unlefs the plants fhould 
come up fo clofe as not to have room to grow, in 
which cafe, part of them fhould be drawn out to give 
room to the others, and thefe may be planted in a 
6 fhady 
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