bottom, of a yellowish colour and often fpotted; laftly changing both their form and fituation in a fingular manner. PISTILLUM: GERMEN rather conical, of a yellow green colour; STYLE fimple; STIGMA bifid.. NECTARY a GLAND furrounding the bottom of the Germen. SEED-VESSEL: a pointed oval CAPSULE, of two cavities and two valves, the lowermoft valve splitting in two. SEEDS numerous, blackifh; small, as if cut off at each end. "Was it not that we are too apt to treat with neglect the beautiful plants of our own country, merely because they are common and eafily obtained, the ftately and elegant Fox-glove would much oftener be the pride of our gardens than it is at prefent; for it is not only peculiarly ftriking at a distance, but its flowers and their feveral parts become beautiful in proportion to the nearness of our view: How fingularly and how regularly do the bloffoms hang one over another! How deli cate are the little fpots which ornament the infide of the flower! and like the wings of fome of our fmall Butterflies fmile at every attempt of the Painter to do them juftice: How pleafing is it to behold the neftling Bee hide itself in its pendulous bloffoms? while extracting its fweets which furnish our tables with honey, and our manufacturers with wax: nor are the more interior parts of the flower lefs worthy of our admiration, or lefs adapted to the improvement of the young Botanist: here all the parts of the fructification being large, he will readily obtain a diftinct idea of them; but more particularly of the form of the Antheræ, and the alteration which takes place in them, previous to and after the discharge of the Pollen. "The flowers of this plant are in general of a fine purple colour, and like all other purple flowers are liable to variations; fometimes we find the bloffoms of a milk white or cream colour, and some other varieties of it are mentioned by RAY, but the white is the most common. Such as would wish to cultivate it, may raise it either from feed, which is very small for the fize of the plant, or from young plants. It grows naturally in a dry and gravelly foil, and in fuch fituations is common enough over most parts of England; about Charlton-Wood it is very plentiful, and flowers in July and Auguft. "According to the teftimony of many writers, the juice or decoction of this plant taken inwardly, acts as an emetic and purgative, and that too with confiderable violence; hence Mr. RAY very properly adviies it to be given to fuch only as have robust conftitutions. PARKINSON affirms that it is very efficacious in the cure of the Epileply; but he unites with it in his prefcription Polypody of the Oak, fo that there is no knowing to which of the plants the merit of curing this stubborn dif ease is due. "The flowers or herb either bruised or made into an ointment, are ftrongly recommended in Schrophulous tumours and ulcers; and fo great an opinion have the Italians of its virtues as a vulnerary, that they have the following proverb concerning it. "Aralda tutte le piaghe falda." Fox-glove cures all wounds. Raii Hift. Plant." *We omit here the Latin of this defcription, as likewife the references to the plates, as ufelefs to our readers. Rev Cc 2 Of Of that valuable fpecies of grafs, called Feftuca Fluitans, or Flote Fefcue Grafs, after giving the ufual botanical defcription, as in the former article, Mr. Curtis proceeds as follows. This Grafs appears to thrive beft in still waters, or gently running ftreams, where its numerous fibres penetrate eafily into the mud; in fuch fituations it becomes very luxuriant, the leaves are large, tender, and fweet, and the Panicle becomes very much branched; but in Mea dows where it is deprived of its natural quantity of water, it becomes in every refpect lefs, and the Panicle is frequently changed to a fimple fpike; when it has nearly done flowering, the branches of the Panicle generally project from the main ftalk fo as to form an acute angle. In every fituation whether the Panicle be large or finall, the Spicule are always preffed close to the ftalk or branches of the Panicle, and this circumftance joined to the length, and roundnefs of the Spicula, fufficiently characterize this fpecies; if it fhould not however, its parts of fructification afford at once a moit pleasing and fatisfactory diftinction. "From the obfervations of late writers, it appears that feveral forts of Cattle are remarkably fond of this grafs, particularly Kine and Hogs, and that in the spring-time they are frequently enticed into bogs by endeavouring to get at its fweet young fhoots, which appear earlier than those of most other Graffes. "Profeffor KALM, in a journey through part of Sweden, obferved "the Swine to go a great way into the water after this grafs, the leaves "of which they eat with great eagernefs; on this he was tempted to try if they would eat the fame grafs dried; he accordingly had fmall bundles of it gathered, dried, and caft before them; the confequence was they ate it feemingly with as much appetite as horfes do hay, hence he concludes that by cultivating this grafs, wet and ચંદ jwampy places might be rendered ufeful, and a great deal of corn, &c. "faved." "He who introduced the method of feeding hogs in fummer-time on Clover, deferved very well of his country; and if the hay of this grafs would keep them in heart during the winter, it might prove a very valuable difcovery. Mr. Kent in his bints to Gentlemen of landed property, lately pubfifhed, confiders this as a moft valuable grafs, and affures us (p. 34.) it is to be improved above all others, and at a lefs expence, merely by flooding; (p. 54.) he informs us that flooding deftroys all weeds, and enriches the land to a very high degree; (p. 56.) he fays, as rolling and preffure bring the annual meadow grafs, fo flooding immediately begets the flote fefcue. These affertions of Mr. Kent befpeak neither the Philofopher nor the accurately practical Farmer, they contain an exaggerated account of improving pafture-land by a particular process, but fhow a great want of that minute attention which fo important a subject required. From a long refidence in Hampshire, we well know that the meadows in that county are confiderably improved by flooding them, that is stopping the water when there happens to be an unusual quantity from violent or long continued rains, and by means of trenches or gripes, conveying the furplus water fo as to overflow them entirely if poffible; but we deny that by this process all weeds are destroyed, the ufe ufe of manure fuperfeded, or that flote fefcue grass is immediately begotten. Although it is a conftant practice with the farmers to flood their meadows in the winter, it is no less a conftant practice with fuch as wish to have good crops of grafs to manure them with dung or afhes. Flooding can no otherwise destroy weeds than by altering the foil in which they grow, and if it destroys one fet of weeds, it must certainly favour the growth of another: if thofe plants which throve best in a dry fituation are deftroyed by the alteration which now takes place in the foil, thofe which are fond of a moist fituation will proportionably flourish. If the flote fefcne grafs was immediately produced by flooding, we should find all thofe meadows which have undergone this ope ration to contain nothing but this kind of grafs, whereas the richeft and best meadows in Hampshire contain scarce a fingle blade of it: the fact is, this grafs will not flourish in meadow land, unless you convert it into a kind of bog or swamp, and I believe few landed Gentlemen will think this an improvement, or thank Mr. Kent for giving them fuch a hint. "Mr. Stillingfleet informs us that Mr. Deane a very fenfible Farmer at Rufcomb, in Berkshire, affured him, that a field always lying "under water of about four acres, that was occupied by his father "when he was a boy, was covered with a kind of grafs that main "tained five farm-horfes in good heart from April to the end of harveft "without giving them any other food, and that it yielded more than they could eat. He at my defire brought me fome of the grafs, "which proved to be the flote fefcue with a mixture of marsh bent; "whether this last contributes much towards furnishing fo good paf"ture for horfes I cannot fay, they both throw out roots at the joints "of the stalks and therefore likely to grow to a great length. In the "index of dubious plants at the end of Ray's Synopfis, there is mention "made of a grafs under the name of Gramen caninum fupinum longiffi mum growing not far from Salisbury twenty-four feet long; this muft "by its length be a grafs with a creeping stalk: and that there is a "grafs in Wiltshire, growing in watery meadows, fo valuable that an acre of it lets from ten to twelve pounds, I have been informed by "feveral perfons. Thefe circumftances incline me to think it must be "the flote fefcue; but whatsoever grafs it be it certainly must deserve "to be enquired after.” "It may not be improper to add, that the account of the extraordi nary long grafs above-mentioned, was taken by RAY from the Phytographia Britannica, which mentions the particular spot where it grew, viz. at Mr. Tucker's, at Maddington, nine miles from Salisbury; it is also remarked that they fat Hogs with it. "As it is now above a century fince this enquiry was first made, is it not furprizing that no fucceeding Botanic Writer fhould have acquired fatisfactory information concerning it? I am promifed fpecimens of the roots and feeds. Upon the whole, from the obfervations which we ourselves have made on this Grafs and from what is to be collected from Authors, it appears that if it be cultivated to any advantage it must be in fuch meadows as are naturally very wet and never drained. "The quickest and perhaps the best method of propagating it would be by tranfplanting the roots at a proper season, and if the foil prove fuitable, fuitable, from the quicknefs of its growth, and its creeping Stalk, it would foon exclude most other plants, and produce a plentiful crop. "" very "In foreign countries the feed of this Grafs feems to be an object of more importance than the grafs itfelf, the following is the fubftance of what Mr. SCHREBER has faid concerning it (vid. Befchreibung der Grafer, p. 40.), "The feed has a fweet and pleafant tafte particularly "before it comes to its full growth, whence the plant has acquired the "name of Manna Gras. Ducks and other water-fowl feed on it with "much eagerness (LINNAEUS has remarked that the Water-fowl are well acquainted with the method of collecting these feeds), it has been obferved likewise that Fish are fond of it, and that Trout in particular thrive in those rivers where this grafs grows in plenty "and fheds its feeds; but it is not only for Birds and Fish but alfo for "Man a palatable and nutritious food, and has for many years paft "been known at Gentlemens tables under the name of Manna-Grout. "The Manna Grafs is of two kinds, the one Panicum fanguinale, or "Cocks-foot Panic-Grafs, the other Feftuca fluitans, which we have "now described; the former is cultivated in feveral parts of Germany, " and its feed fomewhat refembles that of Millet, the latter is collected " in great abundance from the plant as it grows wild in Poland, Li"thuania, the New Marche, and about Franckfort, and other places in Silefia, as alfo in Denmark and Sweden, and hence exported to all « parts. The common method they make use of to gather and prepare "feed in Poland, Pruffia, and the Marche, is as follows. At fun-rife "the feed is gathered or beat from the dewy grafs into a horse-hair "fieve, and when a tolerable quantity is collected, it is fpread on 1 "sheet and dried fourteen days in the fun; it is then thrown into a "kind of wooden trough or mortar, straw or reeds laid between it, and "beat gently with a wooden Pestle so as to take off the chaff and ther "winnowed. After this it is again put into the mortar, in rows, with "dried Marvgold-flowers, Apple, and Hazel leaves, and pounded σε this until the Hulk is entirely feparated and the feed appears bright, it " is then winnowed again, and when it is by this laft process made "perfectly clean it is fit for ufe. The Marygolds are added with a view to give the feeds a finer colour. The most proper time for col"lecting them is in July. A Bufhel of the feed and chaff, yields about "two quarts of clean feed. "When boiled with milk or wine they form an extremely palatable "food, and are most commonly made ufe of whole in the manner of "Sago to which they are in general preferred." To the botanical and medical account of the Viola Odorata, or Sweet Violet, our author adds the following claffical obfer vations. "The Violet has been much complimented by the antient Poets; and our SHAKESPEARE gives it a confpicuous place in his catalogue of flowers. "Violets dim, "But fweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes, * Or CYTHEREA's breath." "The "The Commentators have not been fuccefsful in informing us how the "lids of JUNO's eyes" bear any resemblance to "Violets dim," not recollecting that oλspapos (having violet eyelids) was a complimentary title with the Greek poets. This epithet alludes to a well known cuftom which still prevails in Greece, of colouring the eye lids blue*. "A Grecian girl is painted blue round the eyes; and the infides of the "fockets, with the edges on which the lashes grow, are tinged with "black: For colouring the lafhes and focket of the eye, they throw "incense or Gum of Labdanum on fome coals of fire, intercept the "fmoak which ascends, with a plate, and collect the foot: This I faw applied; a girl fitting crois-legged, as usual, on a fopha, and clofing one of her eyes, took the two lashes between the fore finger and "thumb of her left hand, pulling them forward, and then thrusting "in, at the external corner, a bodkin which has been immersed in the "foot, and extracting it again, the particles before adhering to it remained within, and were prefently ranged round the organ, ferving as a foil to its luftre, befides contributing, as they fay, to its health, "and increafing its apparent magnitude." CHANDLER'S Travels into Greece. 66 Although the poet of nature has been rather obfcure on this subject, where he copies the ancients; he makes ample amends when he gives us the genuine effufions of his own imagination. With what precifion and delicacy does he defcribe the foft enchantment of plaintive mufic, as refembling the sweetness of this flower; illuftrating in a beautiful fimile the object of one fenfe by that of an other! "That firain again;--it bad a dying fall; But we must here take leave of this inftructive, useful, and entertaining performance. K. A Courfe of Lectures on Oratory and Criticifm. By Jofeph Priestley, LL. D. F. R. S. 4to. 10s. 6d. Johnfon.. Ecce iterum Crifpinus! The humourous author of the Spectators, if we remember rightly, fomewhere makes mention of *A Greek poet fuppofed to be a Chriftian, from the feverity of his manners and purity of his inftructions, forbids this custom of painting the eyeids, in the rules of conduct which he addreffes to young women, « Μηδε μέλαινε τεοισιν υπό βλεφάροισιν όπωπας, NAUMACHIUS. It is probable that the Greeks borrowed this fashion from their Afiatic Neighbours; JEZEBEL, a native of Zidon, put her eyes in painting, as the tranflators tell us in the margin of our bible; the Prophets also allude to and cenfure this cuftom, fee Jeremiah iv. 30. Ezekiel xxiii. 40. a Dutch |