others terminate it -, 1 they are yellow, and have an 
..agreeable odour. They 'flower - in July, and the feeds 
ripen in autumn. 
This plant is propagated by feeds, which, if fown in 
autumn, will more certainly fucceed than thole which 
are fown in the fpring. When the plants come up, 
they fhould, be thinned if they are too clofe, and kept 
clean from weeds till autumn, when they fhould be 
tranfplanted where they are to remain. They delight 
in a dry foil and a fanny expofure. The fecond year 
the plants will flower and perfect their feeds, but the 
roots will continue feveral years, and annually pro- 
duce their flowers and feeds. 
The next four forts are preferred in botanic gardens 
for the fake of variety, but are feldorn admitted into 
gardens for pleafure. The fifth fort is a perennial 
plant, which grows naturally on the Alps, and may be 
propagated by feeds in the fame manner as the firft 
fort, but fhould have a fhady fituation and a moift 
foil. 
The others are annnual plants, which, if once ad- 
mitted into a. garden, and fuffered to fcatter their, 
feeds, will become very troublefome weeds there. 
The fix.th fort rifes with ftiff {talks three feet high, 
garnifhed with narrow fpear-fhaped leaves ; the flow- 
ers are yellow, and are produced in clofe bunches from 
the fide of the ftalk toward the top ; thefe appear in 
July, and in warm feafons are fucceeded by feeds in 
England. 
It may be propagated by cutting the ftalk in proper 
lengths, which, if planted in a fhady border, and 
duly watered, will put out roots ; and the following 
autumn, thefe may be taken up and 'planted in the 
borders of the flower-garden. 
The feventh fort grows naturally in Africa : the roots 
of this fend up five or fix upright ftalks near four feet 
high, clofely garnifhed with linear fpear-fhaped 
leaves which are hairy ; the ftalks are terminated by 
-pretty large bunches of yellow flowers, formed in a 
corymbus. Thefe appear in Odtober, and frequently 
continue more than two months, which renders the 
plant ' more valuable. 
This is too tender to thrive in the open, air in this 
country, fo the plants fhould be kept in pots ; and 
if in the winter they are placed in a common frame, 
where they may have a large fn are of free air in mild 
weather, .and fcreened from hard frofts, they will 
thrive better than with tender treatment. It is eafily 
propagated by cuttings, which, if planted in May, 
will readily put out roots, and the young plants will 
flower the autumn following. 
ERIN.U S. Lin. Gen. Plant. 689. Ageratum. Tourn. 
Lift. R. H. 651. tab. 422. 
The Characters are. 
The flower hath a permanent empalement , compofed of 
five leaves , which are equals it hath one petal which is 
tnbulous , and of the ringent kind , cut into five equal feg- 
ments , which fpread open , three fianding upward from the 
upper lip , and two turn downward. It hath four fiamina 
Jituated within the tube , two of which are a little longer 
than the other, terminated by fmall fummits. In the bot- 
tom of the tube is Jituated the oval germen , fupporting a 
floor t fiyle , crowned by a head-fhaped fligma. 'The ger- 
men afterward becomes an oval capfule , covered by the 
empalement , having two cells filled with [mail feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond feftion 
of Linnaeus’s fourteenth clafs, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have two long and two fhort 
ftamina, and their feeds growing in a capfule. Tour- 
nefort has it in his appendix, but it fhould be placed 
in his third clafs, and the fifth feftion, which con- 
tains the plants with an anomalous tubulous flower of 
one leaf. 
The Species are, 
1, Erinus ( Alpinus ) floribus racemofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 
630. Erinus with branching flowers. Ageratum ferra- 
tuii, Alpinum, glabrum, flore purpuralcente. Tourn. 
-R. H. 651. Smooth flawed Alpine Ageratum, having a 
inirplijh flower. 
2. * ibT in us (T mentofus) tomentofus, caulibus procum- 
ERI 
bentibtis, floribus feffilibus axillaribus. Woolly Erinus 
with trailing ftalks, and flowers fitting clofe to their fide s. 
Ageratum Americanum procumbens, gnaphalii fa- 
cie, floribus ad foliorum nodos. Houft. MSS. Trailing 
American Ageratum with the appearance of. Cudweed , 
and flowers 'growing at the knots of the leaves. 
3. Erinus ( Americanus ) caule eredto, foliis lance.olatis 
oppofitis, floribus laxe fpicatis terminalibus. Erinus 
with an upright ftalk, fpear-Jhaped leaves placed oppofite , 
and flowers growing in loofle [pikes, terminating the ftalks. 
Ageratum Americanum eredum fpicatum, flore pur- 
pureo. Houft. MSS. Upright American Ageratum with 
fpikes of purple flowers. 
4. Erinus ( Frutefcens ) caule eredo fruticofo, foliis ova- 
to-lanceolatis ferratis, alternis, ^floribus axillaribus. 
Erinus with a Jhrubby erebi ftalk , oval , fpear-fhaped, 
flawed leaves placed alternate, and flowers on the fides of 
the ftalk. Ageratum frutefcens, foliis dentatis lath 
oribus, villofum. Houft. MSS. Shrubby hoary Ameri- 
can Ageratum with broad indented leaves. 
5. Erinus ( Verticillatus ) caule ramofo procumbente, fo- 
liis ovatis ferratis glabris oppofitis, floribus verticilla- 
tis. Erinus with a branching trailing ftalk , oval, fmooth , 
flawed leaves placed oppofite, and flowers growing in 
whorls round the ftalks. Ageratum Americanum pro- 
cumbens, foliis fubrotundis ferratis glabris. Houft. 
MSS. Trailing American Ageratum with roundijh, fmooth, 
flawed leaves. 
6. Erinus ( Procumbens ) caulibus procumbentibus, fo- 
liis ovatis glabris, floribus fingulis alaribus, pedun- 
culis longioribus. Erinus with trailing ftalks, oval 
fmooth leaves, and Jingle flowers on the fides of the ftalks, 
having longer foot-flalks. Ageratum Americanum, 
procumbens, glabrum, floribus luteis, longis pedicu- 
lis infidentibus. Houft. MSS. Smooth trailing Ameri- 
can Ageratum, with yellow flowers fitting upon long foot- 
flalks. 
The firft fort grows naturally upon the Alps and Hel- 
vetian mountains : this is a very low plant, whofe 
leaves lie clofe to the ground, growing in clofe tufts.; 
they are about half an inch long, and one eighth of 
an inch broad, fawed on their edges, and of a dark 
green ; between thefe arifes the flower-ftalk, which is 
fcarce two inches high, fupporting a loofe bunch of 
purple flowers, which ftand ered. Thefe appear in 
May, and fometimes are fucceeded by ripe feeds in 
J u )y- 
It is propagated by parting the roots ; the belt time 
for this is in autumn ; they muft have a fhady fitua- 
tion and a loamy foil without dung, for in rich earth 
thefe plants are very fubjed to rot. 
The fecond fort was fent me by the late Dr. Houf- 
toun from La Vera Cruz, where he found it growing 
naturally. This fends out feveral trailing ftalks about 
fix inches long, which are clofely garnifhed with fmall 
oval leaves, placed on every fide ; they are very 
white and woolly, and at the joints juft above the 
leaves come out the flowers, fitting very clofe to the 
ftalks ; thefe are white, and are fucceeded by round 
capfules, having two cells, filled with fmall feeds : 
this plant has great refemblance at a diftance to the 
Sea Cudweed. 
The third fort was difcovered by Dr. Houftoun, in 
the fame country with the former : this hath an up- 
right ftalk two feet high, garnifhed with fpear-fhaped * 
leaves placed oppofite ; and toward the top of the 
ftalk is produced two fmaller branches placed oppofite, 
which ftand erect ; and thefe, as alfo the middle ftalk, 
are terminated by loofe fpikes of purple flowers, 
which are fucceeded by oval feed-veffels, filled with 
fmall feeds. 
The fourth fort rifes with a fhrubby ftalk about four 
feet high, dividing into feveral fmall branches, which 
are hairy; thefe are garnifhed with oval fpear-fhaped 
leaves, deeply fawed on their edges ; they are placed 
alternate, and have pretty long foot-ftalks. The 
flowers come out from the fide of the ftalks, fome- 
times Angle, at other times two or three at a joint, 
fitting clofe to the ftalks ; they are white, and are fuc- 
ceeded by round feed-veffels, filled with fmall feeds. 
The 
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