A L C 
gardens, where they are properly difpofed, they make 
a fine appearance; for as their fpikes of flowers 
grow very tall, there will be a fucceflion of them on 
the fame items, more than two months ; the flowers 
on the lower part of the fpike appearing in July, and 
as their italics advance, new flowers are produced till 
near the end of September. When the plants are 
planted in good ground, their italics often rife to 
the height of eight or nine feet, fo that near fix feet 
of eaclf will be garniihed with flowers ; which when 
double, and of good colours, will make a fine appear- 
ance, efpecially if the various colours are properly 
intermixed. 
They are propagated by feeds, which, as hath been 
already obferved, fhould be carefully faved from thole 
plants whofe flowers are the moit double, and of the 
belt colours. If thefe are preferved in their capfules 
until fpring, the feeds will be better, provided they 
are gathered very dry, and care be taken that no 
damp comes to them in winter, which will caufe their 
covers to be mouldy, and thereby fpoil the feeds. 
The feeds iliould be fown on a bed of light earth, 
about the middle of April, which mull be covered 
about half an inch deep, with the fame light earth ; 
fome perfons fow them in ihallow drills, and others 
fcatter the feeds thinly over the whole bed. When 
they are fown in the former method, the plants gene- 
rally come up thick, fo will require to be tranfplanted 
fooner than thofe which are fown in the latter. By 
thefirft, the feeds may be more equally covered, and 
kept clean with lefs trouble, becaufe the ground be- 
tween the drills may be hoed. When the plants have 
put out fix or eight leaves, they iliould be tranfplant- 
ed into nurfery-beds, at a foot diftance from each 
other, obferving to water them until they have taken 
good root ; after which they will require no farther 
care, but to keep them clean from weeds till Otfto- 
ber, when they fhould be tranfplanted where they are 
to remain. 
Some perfons let their plants remain a year longer in 
the nurfery-beds to fee their flowers, before they re- 
move them to the flower-garden •, but when this is 
intended, the plants fhould be planted at a greater 
diftance in the nurfery-beds, otherwife they will not 
have room to grow. However, I have always chofen 
to remove my plants the firft autumn, for young 
plants more furely grow, than thofe which are older •, 
and if the feeds are carefully faved, there will not be 
one in ten of the plants come Angle or of bad colours. 
ALCHEMILLA, Ladies Mantle. 
The Characters are, 
The flower hath a permanent empalement of one leaf \ 
which is fpread open at the brim , and cut into eight feg- 
tnents. There are no petals to the flower , but the center 
of the empalement is occupied by the oval germen , into 
which is inferted a longfiyle , crowned with a globular flig- 
ma : this is attended by four eredl ftamina refling on the 
brim of the empalement , and crowned with rounddfh fum- 
mits ; the germen afterwards turns to a fingle ccmprejfed 
feed . 
Dr. Linnseus ranges this genus in the firft fefllion of his 
fourth clafs of plants, entitled Tetrandria monogy- 
nia, the flowers having four ftamina and one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1. Alchemilla ( Vulgaris ) foliis lobatis ferratis, feg- 
mentis involucro acuto. The common Ladies Mantle . 
C. B. P. 319. 
2. Alchemilla foliis lobatis fericeis acute ferratis, 
fegmentis involucro fubrotundis. Small filvery Ladies 
Mantle with lobated leaves floarply ferrated , and the feg- 
ments of the involucrum cut into roundifh fegments. Al- 
chemilla Alpina pubefcens minor. Tourn, Inft. R. 
H. 508. 
3. Alchemilla ( Alpina ) foliis digitatis ferratis. Flor. 
Lapp. 61. Silvery Alpine Ladies Mantle with handed 
leaves . Alchemilla perennis incana argentea five fe- 
ricea fatinurn provocans. Mor. Hift. 2. p. 195. 
4. Alchemilla ( Pentaphylla ) foliis quinatis multifidis 
glabris. Lin. Sp. Plant. 123. Smooth five-leaved Ladies 
Mantle , cut into many fegments. Alchemilla Alpina 
ALE 
pentaphyllea minima lobis fimbriatis. Bocc. Mule. 1. 
p. 18. 
The firft fort grows naturally in moift meadows in 
feveral parts of England, but is not ' very common 
near London : the roots are compofed of many thick 
fibres, which fpread greatly when they are in a pro- 
per foil ; the leaves rife immediately from the root, 
fuftained by long foot-ftalks ; they are roundifh, and 
fcallopea round the borders into ieven or eight lobes, 
fhaped fomewhat like the Ladies fcalloped Mantles, 
from whence it had its name. The fiower-ftems arife 
between the leaves about a foot high, which divide 
into many branches, and are at each joint garniihed 
with one frnail leaf, fiiaped like thofe below *, the 
flowers are compofed of an herbaceous empalement, 
in the center of which is the ftyle attended by four 
ftamina, crowned with yellow fummits ; fo that the 
only beauty of this plant is in the leases, which are 
ufed in medicine, and are efteemed to be vulnerary, 
drying and binding, and of great force to flop in- 
ward bleeding. 
The fecond fort is much fmaller than the firft, the 
leaves are much whiter and appear fifky •, the fiower- 
ftems do not branch out fo much, nor are the flowers 
produced in fo large chillers : their empalement is 
broader, and the fegments more obtufe than thofe of 
the firft fort. 
The third fort grows naturally on the mountains in 
Yorkfhire, Weftmoreland, and Cumberland, gene- 
rally upon moift boggy places. It is alfo a native of 
Sweden and Denmark, the Alps, and other cold parts 
of Europe, and is admitted into gardens for the fake 
of variety. The leaves of this fort are very white, 
and deeply cut into five parts like a hand ; the fiower- 
ftems feldom rife more than fix inches high, nor do 
the flowers make a better appearance than the other 
forts. 
The fourth fort grows naturally in Sweden, Lapland, 
and other cold countries, fo is only to be foUnd in 
fome few curious botanic gardens in this country. 
Thefe are all abiding plants, which have perennial 
roots and annual ftalks, which perifh in autumn. 
They may be propagated by parting their roots -, the 
belt time for doing this is in the autumn, that their 
roots may be eftablifhed before the drying winds of 
the fpring come on. They fhould have a moift foil 
and a fhady fituation, otherwife they will not thrive 
in the fouthern parts of England. When they are 
propagated by feeds, they fhould be fown in the au- 
tumn •, for when they are fown in the fpring, they 
feldom grow the firft year. They fhould be fown on 
a fhady moift border, and when the plants come up, 
they will require no other care but to be kept clean 
from weeds. 
A L D E R-T R E E. See Alnus. 
ALETRIS. 
The Characters are. 
The flower has no empalement , but hath one oblong oval 
petal , cut into fix fegments at the brim , and are perma- 
nent •, it hath fix awl-floaped ftamina the length of the co- 
rolla , whofe bafe are inferted in the fegments \ thefe are 
crowned by oblong ere A fummits , and, an oval germen flip- 
porting an awl-fhaped ftyle the length of the ftamina , crown- 
ed by a trifid ftigma. The germen afterward becomes an 
oval three-cornered capflule with three cells , filled with an- 
gular feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in Linnaeus’s firft flec- 
tion of his fixth clafs, the flowers having fix ftamina 
and one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1. Aletris ( Farinofa ) acaulis, foliis lanceolatis mem- 
branaceis, floribus alternis. Lin. Sp. 456. Aletris 
without ftalks , fpear-Jhaped membranaceous leaves , and 
flowers placed alternate. Hyacinthus cauie node, fo- 
liis linguiformibus acumiriatis dentatis., Flor.Virg. 38. 
2. Aletris (Capenfis) acaulis, foliis lanceolatis undula- 
tis, fpica ovata, floribus nutantibus. Lin. Sp. 456. 
Aletris without ftalks , waved fpear-fhaped leaves , and an 
oval fpike of alternate flowers. 
\ 
G 
3. Aletris 
