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Angle foot-ftalks, which are fix or feven inches long •, 
thefe leaves are marked with black in their middle ; 
the flowers appear before the leaves, rifing immedi- 
ately from the root, with long flefhy foot-ftalks ; 
they appear in Auguft and September, and foon after 
the leaves come out, continue growing all the winter 
and fpring till May, when they begin to decay, and 
in June they are entirely dried up. After the flow- 
ers are fallen, the foot-ftalks twill up like a fcrew, 
mclofiftg the germen in the center, and lay down 
clofe to the furface of the ground between the leaves, 
which ferve as a protection to the feed. This ger- 
men becomes a round flefhy feed-veffel with one cell, 
inclofing, feveral angular feeds. The feeds ripen in 
June, and fhou] d be fown in Auguft. There are two 
varieties of this, one with a white and the other with 
a purplifh flower, which appear at the fame time. 
1 he fecond fort flowers in autumn : this is at prefent 
very rare in England ; the leaves of this fort are large, 
orbicular, and heart-fhaped at their bafe, and of a 
purple colour on their under fide ; the leaves and 
flowers of this come up from the root at the fame 
time •, the flowers are of a purplifh colour, and their 
bottoms are of a deep red. It flowers late in the au- 
tumn, and requires prote&ion from the froft in 
winter. 
The third fort hath ftiff heart-fhaped leaves which 
are fawed on their edges ; thefe have ftrong flefhy 
foot-ftalks near fix inches long, of a purple colour, 
as are alfo the veins of the leaves on their under fide, 
but the upper fide is veined and marbled with white. 
The flowers rife with fingle foot-ftalks from the root ; 
thefe are pure white with a bright purple bottom ; the 
petal is divided into nine fegments to the bottom, 
which are twilled and reflexed backward like the other 
forts. This flowers in March and April, and the feeds 
ripen in Auguft. 
The fourth fort is commonly called the Perfian Cy- 
clamen. This hath large, angular, heart-fhaped 
leaves, whofe edges are entire; they are veined and 
marbled with white on the upper fide, and Hand up- 
on pretty long foot-ftalks ; the flowers are large, of 
a pale purple colour, with a bright red or purple bot- 
tom. Thefe appear in March and April, and the 
feeds ripen in Auguft. 
The fifth fort hath a fmall irregular root not larger 
than a Nutmeg ; the leaves are orbicular and fmall ; 
the flowers are of a flefh colour, fmall, and have pur- 
ple bortoms. They appear in the autumn, but rarely 
produce feeds in England. 
The fixth fort is not fo tender as the four laft men- 
tioned, fo may be planted in warm borders, where, 
if they are covered in hard froft, they will thrive and 
flower very well. This hath plain orbicular leaves, 
which have fhorter and weaker foot-ftalks than either 
of the other ; their under fides are very red in the be- 
ginning of winter, but that colour goes off in the 
Ipring ; their tipper lides are fmooth, of a lucid green, 
and fpread open flat ; whereas the other forts are 
hollowed, and reflexed at their bafe. The flowers 
are of a very bright purple colour, and appear in the 
middle of winter, at a time when there are few other 
flowers, which renders the plants more valuable. The 
feeds of this fort ripen in the end of June. 
T here are feveral other varieties of this plant, which 
chiefly differ in the colour of their flowers, particu- 
larly among the Perfian kind, of which there is one 
with an entire white flower, which knells very fweet ; 
but as thefe are accidental variations, I have not enu- 
merated them here, thofe which are here mentioned 
being undoubtedly diftinci fpecies ; for I have many 
years propagated them from feeds, and have not 
found them vary, nor have I heard that any other 
perfon has obferved either of them alter farther than 
varying of their colours. Though Dr. Linnaeus fup- 
pofes them but one fpecies, it is well known that the 
fir ft fort will endure the greateft froft in the open air, 
whereas all the Perfian forts are tender, and require 
fhelter in winter. 
All the forts are propagated by feeds, which fliould 
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be fown loon after they are ripe, in boxes or pots filled 
with light kitchen-garden earth, mixed with a little 
fand, and covered about half an inch deep, placing 
them where they may have only the morning fun till 
the beginning of September, when they may be re- 
moved to a warmer expofure. Thofe of the firft fort 
may be plunged into the ground clofe to a fouth wall, 
a pale, or Reed hedge, in October, where, if it 
fhould be very fevere froft, it will be proper to cover 
them either with mats or Peafe -haulm, but in com- 
mon winters they will not require any covering. The 
pots or tubs in which the Perfian kinds are fown, 
fliould then be placed under a common hot-bed frame, 
where they may be protected from froft and hard 
rains, but in mild weather the glaffes may be taken 
off every day to admit frefh air to them. The firft 
fort will come up about Chriftmas, if the feeds were 
fown in Auguft, and their leaves will continue green 
till May ; and thofe of the Perfian kinds will come up 
early in the fpring, and continue green till June, 
when they will begin to decay ; then they fliould be 
removed to an eaft afpeft, where they will have only 
the morning fun, in which fituation they may remain 
till the middle of Auguft ; during which time they 
fliould have very little water, for then the roots are in 
an ina&ive ftate, when much wet will rot them. The 
pots and tubs in which they are fown, muft be con- 
ftantly kept clean from weeds ; for if the weeds are 
permitted to grow,' their roots will clofely entangle 
with thofe of the Cyclamen ; fo that in pulling out 
the weeds, the other roots will be drawn out with 
them. In the beginning of Odtober, there fhould be 
fome frefh earth fpread over the tubs or pots, which 
fhould be removed again into fhelter, in the fame man- 
ner as before ; and the following fummer they muft 
be managed alfo in the fame wav till their leaves de- 
cay, when they fliould be carefully taken up, and 
thofe of the firft fort placed in a warm border at three 
or four inches diftance, but the other forts muft be 
planted in pots to be flickered in winter. 
The third, fourth, and fifth forts, are more impatient 
of cold and wet than the other three ; thefe muft con- 
ftantly be preferred in pots filled v/ith fandy light 
earth, and houfed in winter, but fhould be placed 
near the glaffes, where they may enjoy as much free 
open air as pofiible, when the weather will permit ; 
for if they are crowded under other plants, and are 
kept too clofe, they are very fubject to mould and rot ; 
nor fhould they have much water in winter, which is 
alfo very injurious to them, but whenever they want 
water, it fhould be given them fparingly. In fum- 
mer thefe plants may be expofed to the open air, when 
their green leaves will decay ; at which time you 
fhould remove them to a place, where they may have 
the morning fun until eleven o’clock ; but during the 
time that the roots are deftitute of leaves, they 
fliould have very little water given them, becaufe at 
that feafon they are not capable of difcharging the 
moifture. This is alfo the proper feafon to tranfplant 
the roots, or to frefh earth them •, and as the autumn 
comes on, that the heat decreafes, they may be re- 
moved into places more expofed to the fun, where 
they may remain until October before they need be 
houfed. 
Toward Chriftmas, if the roots are in good health, 
the fixth fort will begin to flower, and continue pro- 
ducing frefh flowers till the middle of February, and 
thefe will be fucceeded by the Perfian forts, which 
continue till May; but if you intend to have any 
feeds, you muft let the pots be placed fo as to receive 
a great fhare of frefh air, for if their flowers are 
drawn up in the houfe, they feldom produce any feeds. 
Thefe feeds are ripe about July, when they fhould be' 
immediately fown in pots or cafes of good light un- 
dunged earth, which fhould be flickered in winter 
under a frame, and expofed in fummer in the fame 
manner as is directed for the older roots, obferving 
to remove them into pots at a wider diftance when 
they are two years old ; and fo from time to time, as 
their roots increafe in bulk, you muft give them more 
room ; 
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