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Show xX Y X I Sieve) and a Bed or two ofgood, light, freth Earth fhould be prepar’d, into which the f Bulbs muft be planted, at about three Inches 9, Narrow-leav'd bulb ‘Violet-colour’d Flower, beautifully ftrip’d with afunder each Way, and three Inches deep, Thefe Beds muft be conftantly kept clean from Red. Weeds and Mofs, and in the Spring, juft be16. XipHi0on; angufti fore the Plants come up, the Surface of the petalis 7 lis dilute ceruleo, s fia Narrow-leav’d bulbous Iris, whofe Flower Beds fhould be ftirr’d, and fome frefh Earth hath pale blue Falls, but the upright Leaves fifted over them about half an Inch thick, which will greatly ftrengthen the Roots, are of a yellow Colour. During the Spring and Summer they muft ‘There are many other Varieties of this Flower, which have been of late Years ob- be conftantly weeded, and at Michaelmas the tain’d from Seeds: Their Numbers are every Earth fhould be again ftirr’d, and fome frefh Year fo much increasd that way, that it fifred over the Beds again as before, obferving would be endlef$ to enumerate themall, there- in Winter and Spring ftill to keep the Beds fore I fhall proceed to their Culture; in which clean, which is the whole Management they I fhall firft begin with the Method of raifing will require, and in Fume following the greateft them from Seeds, that being the Waytoobtain Part of the Roots will fower; at which time you fhould carefully look over them, and put newVarietics. Having procur’da Parcel of Seeds ftom good down a Stick by all thofe whofe Flowers are Flowers, the Beginning of September, you beautiful, to mark em; and fo foon as their fhould provide forme flat Pans or Boxes, which Leaves are decay’d, thefe Roots maybe taken muft have Holes in their Bottoms to let the up to plant in the Flower-Garden amonsft Moifture pafs off: "Thefe fhould be fill'd with other choice Sorts. 15. XIPHION ; uratins ViIolaced freth, light, fandy Earth, and the Seeds fown thereon pretty thick, obferving to featter them as equally as poffible; then cover them over about half an Inch thick with the fame light, frefh Earth, and place the Boxes or Pans where they may have the Morning Sun till eleven of the Clock, and if the Seafon fhould prove very dry, they muft be nowand thenrefrefh’d with Water. In this Situation they may remain until the Middle ofO¢fober, when they fhould be remov’d But the Nurfery-beds fhould ftill remain, obferving to keep them clear from Weeds, as alfo to fift frefh Earth over them, as was be- fore directed ; and the following Seafon, the remaining Part of the Roots which did not flower the laft Seafon, will now fhewtheir Bloffoms fo that you may knowwhich of them are worthpreferving in the Flower-Garden, which fhould now be mark’d ; and when their Leaves are decay’d, they muft be taken up and planted with the other fine Sorts in an Eaft-border of light, frefh Earth; but the ordinary Sorts maybe intermix’d with other bulbous-rooted Flowers in the large Borders of the Pleafure- into a more open Pofition, where they may have the full Sun moft part of the Day; in which Place they muft abide all the Winter, obferving to keep them clear from Weeds and Garden, where, during their Continuance in Mofs, whichat this Seafon is very apt to fpread Flower, they will afford an agreeable Variety. But after thefe choice Flowers are obtain’d over the Surface of the Earth, in Pots, when from Seeds, they maybe increas’d by Off-fets they are expos’d to the open Air. In the Spring the Plants will appear above- as other bulbous Flowers are. Thefe Off-fets ground, when, if the Seafonis dry, they muft fhould be planted in a feparate Border from be now and then refrefh’d with Water, and the blowing Roots, for one Year, until they conftantly kept clear from Weeds ; and as the have Strength enough to produce Flowers, Seafon advances, and the Weather becomes whenthey may beplac’d in the Flower-Garden warm, they fhould be again remov’d into with the old Roots. Thefe Bulbs need not be taken up oftener their former fhady Situation, where they may enjoy the Morning Sun only. When the than every other Year, which fhould always Plants begin to decay, (which will be in Fune) be done foon after their Leaves decay, other- they muft be clear’ from Weeds and dead wife they will fend forth frefh Fibres, whenit Leaves, and fome frefh Earth fifted over them will be too late to remove them; nor fhould about half an Inchthick, ftill fuffering them they be kept long out of the Ground ; a Week to abide in the fame Situation all the Summer or Fortnight is full enough; for when theyare Seafon; during which time they will require kept longer, their Bulbs are fubject to fhrink, no farther Care, but to keep them clear from which caufes their Flowers to be weak the fol Weeds until the Beginning of Odfober, when lowing Year. The Earth which thefe Flowers thrive beft they muft be again removd into the Sun, and the Surface of the Earthlightly takenoff, and in, is, a light, fandy Loam; and ifit be taken from a Pafture-Ground, with the Sward, fome frefh Earthfifted over them. In this Place they muft remain all the and laid ina Heap until the Grafs is throughly Winter, as before; and in the Spring they rotted, it will be fill better, for thefe Bulbs muft be treated as was directed for the former do not delight in a rich, dunged Soil; nor Year. fhould they be planted in a Situation where When the Leaves are decay’d, the Bulbs they may be too much expos’d to the Sun, for fhould be carefully taken up, (which may be in fuch Places their Flowers will continue but beft done-by fifting the Earth through a fine a few Days in Beauty, and their Roots are apt xy apt to decay ; but in an Eaft Border, where they have the Sun until Eleven of the Clock, they will thrive and flower extreamly well, There .are feveral other Varieties of this Plant in the warm Parts of the Aa# and Weft Indies, where they growin great Plenty, fome efpecially if the Soil be neither too wet or over of which have been obferved by the Curious in Botany; but others have efcaped their Notice; however, thefe being what I have obferved growing in the European Gardens, } fhall not trouble the Reader with an Enumera- dry : From the moft beautiful of thefe Flowers, fhould be Seeds faved, and fown every Year, which will always furnifh new Varieties, fome of which will greatly exceed the original Kinds. The Perfian Iris is greatly efteem’d for the Beauty and extream Sweetnefs of its Flowers, as alfo for its early Appearance in the Spring, it generally being in Perfection in February or the Beginning of March, according to the Forwardnefs of the Seafon, at which time there are fewother Plants in Beauty. This may be propagated by Seeds, in the fame Manneras the other Sorts, but the Boxes in which they are fown, fhould be put under a Garden Frame in inter, to fhelter them from hard Frofts, becaufe while the Plants are young they are fomewhat tender: From the Seeds of this Kind 1 could never obtain any Varieties, their Flowers being always the tion of the other Varieties. The firft Sort here mention’d, is cultivated plentifully in Candy, Lemos, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily and at Naples ; asalfo between Feru/alem and Damafcus, from whence the Cotton is brought annually into thefe Northern Parts of Europe. Tt is fown upontilled Grounds in the Spring of the Year, and cut down and reaped in Harveft, as Corn with us; the Ground muft be tilled and fowh again the fucceeding Year, and managed in fuch Sort, as we do the Tillage for Corn and other Grain: It is an annual Plant, perifhing when it hath perfeéted its Fruit, as manyothers do. This Cotton is the Wooll which enclofes or wraps up the Seeds, and is contained in a kind of brown Husk or Seed-Veflel, growing fame. Thefe Plants are alfo propagated by Off-fets upon this Shrub; for it is from this Sort, in the fame Manner as the other Sorts; but their Roots fhould not be tranfplanted oftener than every third Year, nor fhould they be ever kept out of the Ground long, becaufe their Roots will intirely decay in a fhort time, fo as not to be recovered again, This Sort was formerly more commonin the Gardens near London than at prefent, which I fuppofe has beenoccafioned by the keeping the Roots above Ground too long, which deftroy’d them. XYLON ; [£0aev, 70d] The Cotton Plant. The Charatters are ; The Flower confifis of one Leaf, eut into feveral Segments almoft to the Bottom, andis of the expanded Bell-foape ; from the Center rifes a hollow pyramidal Tube, adorned and loaded for the moft part with Chives ; fromthe Empalegent boots up the Pointalfixed like a Nail inthe Bottom of the Flower ; andof the Tube, which is aftewards changed into a roundifo Fruit, divided into four or more feminal Cells, gaping at the Top, andenclofing Seeds covered over with, and wrapped within that foft duttile Wool, commonly known by the Name of Cotton. The Species are; 1. Xy1on ; five Goffypinm berbaceum. F. B. that the vaft Quantities of Cotton are taken which farnifh our Parts of the World: It is brought from the Iflands, where the Natives take great Care of its Culture: ‘There are { ral Sorts of Cotton fold, which chiefly differ according to the Countries from whence they come, and the various Preparations made of them; the firft is the Cotton in the Wooll, that is to fay, that which comes from the Shell, from which only we take the Seed; thofe Cottons come from Cyprus, Smyrna, &c. ‘The fecond, is the Cstfon in the Yarn, which comes from Damafcus ; the Ferufalem Cottons which are called Bazac’s, are the beit which are fold. The fecond and third Sorts are alfo Annual, thefe are cultivated in the Wef-Indie in great Plenty ; but the fourth andfifth < grow in Egypt; thefe abide many Years, and often arrive to be Trees of great Magnitude, from which the Inhabitants are annually furnifh’'d with great Quantities of Cotton. One of thefe Trees has a purplifh, and the other a yellow Flower, which I believe is the only Difference between them. The fixth Sort grows veryplentifully both in the Eaf and Wef-Indies, where it arrives to a prodigious Magnitude ; the Inhabitants of thofe Countries hollow the Trenks of thefe Trees to make Canoes, for which they ate chiefly valued. It is reported that in Cuba in Columbus's firft Voyage, was feen a Cano ofa hollowed Trunk of this Tree, which was Herb or Shrubby Cotton. 2, Xyton; Americanum, preftantiffimum, femine virefcente. Ligon. "The moft Excellent American Cotton, with a greenifh Seed. long, and able to contain 3. Xvton; five Goffypinm, frutefcens an- Ninety-five Palms Fifty Men, Andothers fay, nuum, folio vitis amphori, quinguifide, Infule One hundred and Trees of this Sort fo large as Providentie. Pluk. Phyt. Annual Shrubby that there are be fathomed by fixteen Men, and Cotton of the Ifland of Providence, with a {carcely to fo high, that an Arrow can fcarce be fhot to large quinquifid Vine Leaf. : 4. Xyton ; arboreum. F. B Cotton. The ‘Free §. Kyron; arboreunt, flore flavo, ‘Tree Cotton, with a yellow Flower. Tourn. 6. Xyviton ; arboreum, caule [pinofo. Tourn. Tree Cotton, with a thorny Stalk aL t their Tops. The Wool! growing upon thefe I reés, is of a dark Colour, and too fhort to fpin, fo thar it is little valued; but fometimes the Inhabithough tants ftuff Beds and Pillows with it, it is accounted unwholefome to Jie ae 1 MS |
