2. L. N. PARVIFOLIA.

Small-leaved Noble Laurel; Laurier à petites feuilles, of the French, indigenous to the Caribbee Islands, where its leaves are used for seasoning food.

3. L. N. SALICIFOLIA, Loudon. Willow-leaved Noble Laurel, a shrub six or eight feet high, with long, narrow leaves, not so thick as those of the species, and of a lighter green.

4. L. N. UNDULATA, Loudon. Undulated-leaved Noble Laurel, a low shrub, seldom growing higher than from four to six feet, with leaves waved on the edges, and is said to be more hardy than the species.

5. L. N. CRISPA, Loudon. Crisped-leaved Noble Laurel, with leaves somewhat curled.

6. L. N. VARIEGATA, Loudon. Variegated-leaved Noble Laurel. 7. L. N. FLORE PLENO, Loudon. Double-flowered Noble Laurel. Geography and History. The Laurus nobilis is a native of the south of Europe, and northern Africa; and, according to St. Pierre, remarkably fine trees of it were found on the banks of the river Peneus, in Thessaly, which, probably, might have given rise to the fable of the nymph Daphne, (supposing the Greek daphne to be this tree,) the daughter of that river.

The exact date of the introduction of this species into Britain is unknown, but it must have been previous to 1562, as it is mentioned by Turner, in his "Herbal," published in that year; and we find that, in the reign of Elizabeth, the floors of the houses of distinguished persons were strewed with its leaves.

The largest recorded tree of this species in Britain, is at Margram, in Glamorganshire, on the seat of C. P. Talbot, M. P., about twelve miles from Swansea. It is upwards of sixty feet in height, with a magnificent bell-shaped summit, about sixty feet in diameter.

At Cypress grove, near Dublin, in Ireland, there is a laurel fifty feet in height, with a trunk two feet in diameter, and an ambitus or spread of branches of twenty-five feet.

Throughout Germany, the Laurus nobilis is a green-house plant. In Russia, in the Crimea, it requires protection during winter.

In Italy and Spain, it attains a larger size than in any other part of Europe, forming immense bushes from fifty to seventy feet in height.

In the northern parts of the United States, it is only cultivated as a greenhouse plant; but in the southern sections of the union, where the climate is more mild, it grows in great perfection in the open air.

Mythological and Legendary Allusions. This tree is celebrated in mythology, as having once been Daphne, the daughter of Peneus, who, flying from the embraces of Apollo, and reaching the banks of her parent stream, called on the river god for protection, was changed into a laurel. In the age of Roman greatness, this tree was considered as the emblem of victory, and also of clemency. The victorious generals were crowned with it in their triumphal processions; every common soldier carried a sprig of it in his hand, and even the dispatches announcing a victory were wrapped up in, and ornamented with, its leaves. The aromatic odour of this tree was supposed by the ancient Romans to have the power of dispelling contagion; and, during a pestilence, the Emperor Claudius removed his court to Laurentum, so called from the bay-trees which grew within its walls. Theophrastus tells us that the superstitious Greeks would keep a bay leaf in their mouths all day, to preserve themselves from misfortunes. The Greeks, also, had diviners who were called Daphnephagi, because they chewed laurel leaves, which they pretended inspired them with the spirit of prophecy. The laurel was dedicated to Apollo, and the first temple raised to that god at Delphi, was formed of the branches of this tree. It was the favourite tree of the poets; and we are told that Maia, the mother of Virgil, dreamed that she was delivered of a

bay-tree; and that one of these trees sprang from Virgil's ashes, and is still growing over his tomb. In more recent times, the laurel was supposed to be a safeguard against lightning; and Madame de Genlis mentions the device of the Count De Dunois, which was a bay-tree, with the motto, "I defend the earth that bears me." It was a custom, in the middle ages, to place wreaths of laurel, with the berries attached, on the heads of those poets who had particularly distinguished themselves; hence the expression, "poet laureate." The crowns, which have for a long time encircled the heads of the young students in the European schools of divinity, law, and of medicine, who have taken their degrees, are made of the branches of this tree, garnished with the berries, and thus indicate the title of bachelor or baccalaureate, from the Latin bacca laurea, laurel berries. These students, formerly, were not allowed to marry, lest the duties of husband and father should take them from their literary pursuits; and, in time, all single men were called bachelors. The statues of Esculapius, crowned with sprigs of laurel, announced the great confidence in which the ancients held the medicinal virtues of this tree. The laurel is mentioned by Chaucer as the crown of the Knights of the Round Table.

Soil, Propagation, &c. The Laurus nobilis requires a good free soil, and it will not thrive in the open air, in a climate much colder than that of London, in England, or of Charleston, in South Carolina. It is generally propagated by layers or cuttings, particularly the varieties; but the species may readily be increased from seeds. As it forms a dense conical bush, when not trained to a single stem, it is well adapted for hedges. This tree is very tenacious of life, and a root or stump of it will often send up suckers two years after it has appeared to be dead.

Properties and Uses. The wood of this tree, from its inferior size, is not much used in construction, nor in the arts. The young branches are sometimes employed for the hoops of small casks. Both the leaves and berries were formerly considered medicinal, being highly aromatic and stomachic; they are also astringent and carminative. An infusion of them was not only considered beneficial, when taken internally, but it was used in fomentations, &c. From the berries, there is extracted a particular principle, called laurine. The kernels of the fruit yield an emollient and resolutive oil, called oil of laurel, which is employed as an embrocation in materia medica, and in the veterinary art. The essential oil is used in perfumery, and for scrubbing wainscots in chambers, in order to drive away flies. The leaves impart a yellow colour to wool. The principal use of this tree, however, is for hedges, and other purposes of ornament, though the leaves are much employed for flavouring custards, blanc-mange, &c. The flowers afford the best kind of honey, and are numerously frequented by bees.

As an evergreen shrub, the laurel is not only beautiful in itself, but connected as it is with many classical and interesting associations, it well deserves a place in every collection.

Engravings. Catesby, Natural History of Carolina, pl. 63; Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 82; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, iii., fig. 1168; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Evergreen. Leaves oval, lanceolate, slightly glaucous beneath. Flowers in peduncled axillary groups.-Sprengel, Syst. Veg.

Description.

HE Carolina Laurel, although it sometimes attains a height of sixty or seventy feet, in its natural habitat, with a trunk fifteen or twenty inches in diameter, rarely exhibits a regular form; its stem generally being crooked, and divided into several thick limbs, eight, ten, or twelve feet above the ground. Upon the trunks of old trees, the bark is thick, and deeply furrowed; but on young stocks and branches, it is smooth, and of a beautiful green colour. The leaves are about six inches long, alternate, oval-acuminate, glaucous on the lower surface, and evergreen. The male flowers come out in April or May, in long clusters from the axils of the leaves; and the female flowers occur in loose bunches, on rather

long, red peduncles. The berries, which are of an oval form, and of a rich, darkblue, grow in red cups, and occur two, and sometimes three together.

Varieties. Michaux states that this tree differs exceedingly in its character, according to the latitude in which it grows. Laurus borbonia, of Linnæus, is probably the form which it assumes in the southern states; and L. carolinensis, the one in which it appears in the more northern states. The three following varieties appear to be distinctly marked, all of which were introduced into Britain, in 1806:

1. L. c. GLABRA, Pursh. Glabrous-leaved Carolina Laurel, with leaves slightly glabrous. 2. L. c. PUBESCENS, Pursh. pubescent leaves.

3. L. c. OBTUSA, Pursh.

obtuse.

Pubescent-leaved Carolina Laurel, having slightly

Obtuse-leaved Carolina Laurel, with the leaves ovate

Geography, &c. The Laurus carolinensis is indigenous to the lower part of Virginia, and is found more or less abundantly throughout the maritime districts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and of Louisiana. It occurs in the broad swamps which intersect the pine-barrens, and is there associated with the tupelo, (Nyssa biflora,) red maple, (Acer rubrum,) and the water oak (Quercus aquatica.) A cool and humid soil appears to be essential to its growth; and it is remarked, that the farther south it grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its vegetation.

This species was discovered by Mark Catesby, and was first described and figured by him, in his "Natural History of Carolina." It was cultivated in Britain, by Miller, in 1739. In France, Plumier constituted it a genus, to which he gave the name of Borbonia, in honour of Gaston de Bourbon, son of Henry IV., and uncle to Louis XIV.

Propagation, &c. The Carolina laurel may be propagated by cuttings or layers, or from seeds. In its native country, the seeds vegetate freely, and the old trees are often surrounded by hundreds of young plants.

Properties and Uses. The wood of the Laurus carolinensis is very strong, and of a beautiful rose-colour, with a fine, compact grain, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish, having the appearance of watered satin. Before mahogany became in general use in cabinet-making, in the United States, the wood of this tree was much employed in the regions where it abounds in the manufacture of articles of furniture of the highest degree of beauty. It might also be employed in ship-building, and for other purposes of construction, as it unites the properties of strength and durability; but its trunks are rarely found, of late, of sufficient dimensions to render it available for these purposes. When bruised, the leaves diffuse a strong odour, resembling that of the sweet bay, (Laurus nobilis,) and may, like them, be employed in cookery.

In Europe, this species is solely considered as an ornamental tree; and as it is more tender than the sweet bay, it is only suitable for warm and sheltered situations, or for being placed against a wall.

Derivation. The specific name sassafras, is an alteration of the Spanish word salsafras, or saxifras, which is applied to a species of Saxifraga, the virtues of which are attributed by the Spanish Americans to this tree.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 81; Bigelow, Medical Botany, pl. 35; Audubon, Birds of America, iii., pl. cxliv.; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, vii., pl. 218 et 219; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Sexes dioecious. Habit arborescent. Both leaves and flowers are produced from the same buds. Buds, younger branches, and the under surface of the leaves, pubescent. Leaves entire, or with 2-3 lobes. Veins prominent on the under side. Flowers in corymbose conglomerate racemes. Anthers with 4 unequal cells. In the female flower, additionally to the pistil, are 6 glandlike bodies, like those of the male flowers.-Nuttall, Genera.

TRAITS OF THE ABORIGINES.

HE Laurus sassafras, in favourable situations, sometimes attains a height of fifty or sixty feet, with a trunk from one to two feet in diameter; but ordinarily it does not much exceed one half of these dimensions. The bark of the trunk is of a grayish colour, and is deeply furrowed; and that of the young branches is smooth, and of a beautiful reddish-green. On cutting into the cortex or true bark, it exhibits a dark, dull-red, much resembling the colour of the Peruvian bark. The trees, when old, often give birth to numerous suckers, that spring up at little distances from their trunks, which rarely rise higher than six or eight feet. The leaves of the sassafras are four or five inches in length, alternate and petiolated. At their unfolding, in spring, they are downy, and of a tender texture; but become smoother, and more firm by age. They are remarkable for the variety of their forms on the same tree. "Those which proceed first from the bud, are usually oval and entire; the next have the same form, with a lobe on one side; and the last, and