A M A 
A M fi 
than thofe which are kept in pots, . and will multiply 
fafter. 
The fourth fort is fuppofed to come originally from 
Japan, but has been many years cultivated in the 
gardens of Guernfey and Jerfey 5 in both which places, 
they feem to thrive as well as if it was their native 
country ; and from thofe iflands their roots are fent 
annually to the curious in moil parts of Europe, and 
are commonly called Guernfey Lilies. The roots of 
this plant are generally brought over in June and 
July ; but the fooner they are taken out of the ground 
after their leaves decay, they are the better : for al- 
though the roots which are taken up when their fiower- 
ftems begin to appear, will flower, yet their flowers 
will not be fo large, nor will their roots be near fo 
good after, as thofe which were removed before they 
had fent out frelh fibres. 
When thefe roots come over, they fhould be planted 
in pots filled with frelh, light, fandy earth, mixed with 
a little very rotten dung, and placed in a warm fitua- 
tion, obferving now and then to refrelh the earth with 
water : but by no means let them have too much wet, 
which would rot their roots, efpecially before they 
come up. About the middle of September, fuch of 
the roots as are ftrong enough to flower, will begin 
tq fhew the bud of their fiower-ftem (which is com- 
monly of a red colour) ; therefore you fhould remove 
thefe pots into a fituation where they may have the 
full benefit of the fun, and may be fheltered from 
ftrong winds : but by no means place them too near 
a wall, nor under glafles, which would draw them up 
weak, and render them lefs beautiful. At this feafon 
they fhould be gently refrelhed with water, if the 
weather be warm and dry, but if it fhould prove very 
wet, they fhould be fcreened from it. 
When the flowers begin to open, the pots fhould be 
removed under fhelter, to prevent the flowers from 
being injured by too much wet : but they muft not 
be kept too clofe, nor placed in a fituation too warm, 
which would occafion their colour to be lefs lively, 
and haften their decay. The flowers of this plant 
will continue in beauty (if rightly managed) a full 
month •, and though they have no fcent, yet, for the 
richnefs of their colour, they are juftly efteemed in 
the firft rank of the flowery tribe. 
After the flowers are decayed, the green leaves will 
begin to fhoot forth in length, and if fheltered from 
fevere cold, will continue growing all, the winter ; 
but they muft have as much free air as poflible in 
mild weather, and covered only in great rains or 
frofts ; for which purpofe, a common hot-bed frame 
is the propereft fhelter for them ; under which if they 
are placed, the glafles may be taken off conftantly 
every day in dry open weather, which will encourage 
the leaves to grow ftrong and broad ; whereas when 
they 'are placed in a green-houfe, or not expofed to 
the’ open air, they will grow long and flender, and 
have a pale weak afped, whereby the roots will be- 
come v/eak, fo that it feldom happens that they pro- 
duce flowers under fuch management. 
Thefe roost fhould be tranfplanted every fourth or 
fifth year toward the latter end of June, or beginning 
of July, and planted into frelh earth (but they fhould 
not be oftener removed, for that would retard their 
flowering.) The offsets fhould alfo be taken off, and 
planted into feveral pots, which, in three years time, 
wall produce flowers ; fo that after a perfon is once 
flocked with thele roots, they may increafe them, fo 
as to have a fupply of blowing roots, without being 
at the trouble or expence of fending to Guernfey every 
year for frefh roots ; and the roots preferved here will 
flower ftronger than thofe which are ufually brought 
from thence, for the inhabitants of thofe iflands are 
not very curious in cultivating them. Their ufual 
method is -to plant them at a great diftance in a bed 
of common earth., where they let them remain for 
many years : in which time they produce fuch a num- 
ber of offsets, that many times one Angle clufter has 
contained above a hundred roots •, by which means, 
thofe which grow on the infide arefo much comp re fled 
by the outer roots, that they are., perfectly flatted [ 
and from the number of roots growing-in each duffer, 
they are all rendered weak, and unfit to produce 
fuch large ferns of flowers, as thofe which have grown 
fingle, and are of a fpherica! figure. 
But when a perfon is pofleffed of a large number of 
thefe roots, it will be troublefome to preferve them 
in pots, therefore there fhould be a bed prepared of 
the following earth, in feme well fheltered part of the 
garden, viz. Take a third part of frefh virgin earth 
from a pafture ground, which is light, then put near 
an equal part of fea fand, to which you fhould add 
rotten dung, and fifted lime rubbifh, of each an equal 
quantity. With this earth (when well mixed and in- 
corporated) you fnould make your bed about two feet 
thick, railing it about four or five inches above the 
furface of the ground, if the fituation be dry ; but if 
the ground be wet, it fhould be railed eight or nine 
inches higher, in this bed, about the beginning of 
July (as was before directed), you fhould plant the 
roots about fix or eight inches afunder each way; and 
in the winter, when the froft begins, you fnould either 
cover the bed with a frame, or arch it over, and cover 
it with mats and ftraw, to prevent their leaves from 
being pinched with cold ; but in the fpring the co- 
vering may be entirely removed, and the bed kept 
conftantly clear from weeds, during the fummer, ob- 
ferving to ftir the furface of the earth now and then j 
and every year, when the leaves are decayed, you 
fhould fhift a little frefh earth over the beds, to en- 
courage the roots. In this bed the roots may remain 
until they are ftrong enough to produce flowers, when 
they may be taken up and planted in pots, as was 
before directed, or fuffered to remain in the fame bed 
to flower. 
The roots of thefe plants do not flower again the fuc- 
ceeding year (as in many other forts of bulbs ;) but 
if their bulbs contain two buds in their center, as is 
often the cafe, they very often flower twice within the 
compafs of three years ; after which, the fame indi- 
vidual root does not flower again in feveral years, but 
only the offsets from it. 
AMBROSIA [fo called from d privative and 
(3 goroi; mortal,] becaufe feigned by the poets to be the 
food of the gods. 
The Characters are, 
It hath male and female flowers on the flame plant. The 
male flowers are compcfled of many florets , which are in- 
cluded in one common empalement of one leaf. \ which is plain , 
and extended the length of the florets : each floret is of one 
leaf \ funnel-jhaped , and cut into five parts at the brim ; 
in the center is fituated the five flmall ftamina , which are 
crowned with pointed erebi flummits. The female florets 
are placed under the male in the flame flpike-, thefe have an 
empalement of one leaf. which is pointed and permanent t 
they have no petals, but an oval germen placed in the bottom 
of the empalement , flupporting a fender fiyle , crowned 
with two long hairy fiigma. The germen afterward be- 
comes an oval hard capfuls with one cell , crowned with the 
acute flegtnents of the empalement , and inclbfing one round- 
ijh feed. 
This genus of plants, is by Dr. Linnaeus ranged in 
the fifth divifion of his twenty-fin t- clafs, entitled Mo- 
noecia Pentandria, Lorn their having male and female 
flowers in the fame plant, and the male flowers having 
five ftamina. 
The Species are, 
1. Ambrosia {Maritime!) folds multifidis racemes foli- 
taris pilofls. Lin. Sp. Plant. 988. Ambrojid zvith 
leaves divided into many farts , and fingle hairy fpikes of 
flowers. Ambrofia maritima. C. B. P. Sea Ambro- 
fia. 
2. Ambrosia ( Elatior ) folds bipinnatifidis, racemis pa- 
niculatis terminalibus glabris. Hort. Upfal. 284. 
Ambrofia with double winged leaves , a frnooth loofle flpike 
cfl flowers growing at the extremity of the branches. Am- 
brofia maritima folds artemiflse inodoris elatior. H. 
L- 32. 
3. Ambrosia {Trifida) foliis trilobis &quinquelobis ferra- 
tis. Lin. Sp. 9 8 8 . Ambrofiawith leaves havingthree and five 
lobes , 
