at Killerton, 90 years planted, it is 26 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. In Somersetshire, at Nettlecombe, 70 years planted, it is 22 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 20 in., and of the head 39 ft. In Surrey, at Claremont, 25 ft. high, as a bush, the branches covering a space 15 ft. in diameter. In Sussex, at Arundel Castle, it is 25 ft. high.

Laurus nóbilis North of London. In Bedfordshire, at Southhill, 22 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Berkshire, at White Knights, 30 years planted, it is 13 ft. high. In Cheshire, at Kinmel Park, 20 years planted, it is 18 ft high; at Eaton Hall, 14 years planted, it is 9 ft. high, and the diameter of the space covered by the branches 10 ft. In Shropshire, at Willey Park, 10 years planted, it is 12 ft. high. In Suffolk, at Finborough Hall, 60 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; at Great Livermere, 12 years planted, it is 18 ft. high. In Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, 40, years: planted, it is 14 ft. high, against a wall. In Yorkshire, at Hackress, 16 years planted, it is 8 ft. high; at Grimston, 13 years planted, it is 14 ft. high.

Laurus nobilis in Scotland. At Gosford House, 36 years planted, it is 15 ft. high, the diameter of the space covered by the branches 12 ft.; at Dalhousie Castle, 14 years planted, it is 15 ft. high, against a wall. In Berwickshire, at the Hirsel, 35 years planted, it is 14 ft. high, against a wall. In Haddingtonshire, at Tynningham, it is 10 ft. high. In Aberdeenshire, at Thainston, it grows 8 in. in a year, and stands the winter well in sheltered situations. In the Isle of Bute, at Mount Stewart, it is 27 ft. high, and the diameter of the space covered by the branches 26 ft. In Ross-shire, at Brahan Castle, it is 11 ft. high. In Stirlingshire, at Airthrey Castle, 45 years planted, it is 14 ft. high.

Laurus nobilis in Ireland. At Cypress Grove, Dublin,it is 50 ft high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 2 in., and of the head 25 ft. In the Cullen's Wood Nursery, 35 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 24 ft. In Wicklow, at Shelton Abbey, 16 years planted, it is 34 ft. high. In Fermanagh, at Florence Court, 30 years planted, it is 10 ft. high.

Laurus nobilis in Foreign Countries. In France, in the Botanic Garden, Toulon, 14 years planted, it is 19 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6 in.; at Vaucluse, among the scattered houses not far from the fountain, it was 15 ft. high, in 1819. Throughout Germany it 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 any where else in Europe, forming immense bushes, from 50 ft. to 70 ft. in height.

Commercial Statistics. Plants of the species in the London nurseries are Is. each, and the varieties from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; at Bollwyller it is a greenhouse plant; at New York, plants are 1 dollar each.

B. Plants evergreen; half-hardy.

2. L. CAROLINE'NSIS Catesb. The Carolina Laurel, or Red Bay. Identification. Catesb. Car., 1. p. 63.; Michx. Fl. Amer., 1. p. 245.; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 276.; Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 665.

Synonymes. L. Borbònia Lin. Sp., 529., Syst., 383., Martyn's Mill., No. 1S., N. Du Ham., 2. p. 163., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; L. axillaris Lam.; Borbonia sp. Plum. Gen., 4. ic. 60., Persea Borbònia Spreng.; the broad-leaved Carolina Bay; Laurier rouge, Laurier Bourbon, Laurier de Caroline, Fr.; Carolinischer Lorbeer, Rother Lorbeer, Ger.

Engravings. Catesb. Car., t. 63.; Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 2. t. 82.; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 33. ; and our fig. 1168. after Michaux, and fig. 1169. after Du Hamel.

Spec. Char., &c. Evergreen. Leaves oval, lanceolate, slightly glaucous beneath. Flowers in peduncled axillary groups. (Spreng. Syst., ii. p. 265.) An evergreen tree, a native of North America, from Virginia to Louisiana; introduced in 1739, and flowering in May; but seldom found in collections. Varieties.

L. c. 2 glabra Pursh has the leaves slightly glabrous.

L. c. 3 pubescens Pursh has the leaves slightly pubescent.

L. c. 4 obtusa Pursh has the leaves ovate-obtuse.

All these varieties were introduced in 1806; and they all flower from May to July. In our Hortus Britannicus, and other modern catalogues, L. Borbònia and L. carolinénsis are made distinct species; the former being said to be tender, and introduced in 1739, and the latter to be hardy, and introduced in 1806. Both, however, are said to be the American red bay; and in Pursh's Fl. Amer. Sept., and in the N. Du Ham., they are considered identical. It appears probable that this is the case; and, as it appears from Michaux (N. Amer. Sylva, ii. p. 150.), that the tree differs exceedingly according to the latitude in which it grows, L. Borbònia (fig. 1168.) may be the form it assumes in the southern states, and L. carolinénsis (fig. 1169.) its appearance in the more northern ones.

Description, &c. The red bay, though it sometimes, in the south of Georgia and the Floridas, attains the height of 60 ft. or 70 ft., with a trunk from 15 in.

1169

to 20 in. in diameter, yet rarely exhibits a regular form: its trunk is generally crooked, and divided into several thick limbs at 8 ft., 10 ft., or 12 ft. from the ground. In America, Michaux tells us," upon old trunks the bark is thick, and deeply furrowed; that of the young branches, on the contrary, is smooth, and of a beautiful green colour. The leaves are about 6 in. long, alternate, oval-acuminate, glaucous on the lower surface, and evergreen. When bruised they diffuse a strong odour, resembling that of the sweet bay (Laúrus nóbilis),

and may, like those of that species, be employed in cookery." (Michx, North Amer. Syl., ii. p. 151.) The male flowers come out in long bunches from the axils of the leaves; and the female flowers in loose bunches on pretty long red peduncles. The berries are of a dark rich blue, in red cups, and they grow two, and sometimes three, together. The red bay is found in the lower part of Virginia, and it continues in abundance throughout the maritime districts of the Carolinas, Georgia, the two Floridas, and Lower Louisiana. Mixed with the sweet bay (Laúrus nóbilis), tupelo (Nýssa biflòra), red maple (Acer rubrum), and water oak (Quercus aquática), it fills the broad swamps which intersect the pine barrens. A cool and humid soil appears essential to its growth; and it is remarked, that the farther south it grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its vegetation. It was discovered by Catesby, and described and figured by him in his work on Carolina; Miller cultivated it in 1739. In France, Plumier constituted it a genus, to which he gave the name of Borbònia in honour of Gaston de Bourbon, son of Henry IV., and uncle of Louis XIV. In America, the wood of the red bay is used for cabinet-making, as it is very strong, and of a beautiful rosecolour, has a fine compact grain, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish, having the appearance, as Catesby tells us, of watered satin. Before mahogany became the reigning fashion in cabinet-making, Michaux observes, the wood of the red bay was commonly employed in the southern states of North America by the cabinet-makers, who produced from it articles of furniture of the highest degree of beauty; but trees of the red bay are now no longer to be found in North America of sufficient diameter for this purpose, and recourse is had to mahogany, which is imported from St. Domingo at a moderate price. 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 sufficient dimensions to render it available for these purposes. In England it is solely considered as an ornamental tree; and as it is more tender than the common sweet bay, it is only suitable for warm or sheltered situations, or for being placed against a wall,

3. L. CATESBIA`NA Michx. Catesby's Laurel, or Red Bay. Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 244.: Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 265.; Pursh Fl. Amer., Sept. 1., p. 275. Engraving. Catesb. Car., t. 28.

Spec. Char., &c. Evergreen. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, glossy. Flowers in a terminal panicle. Fruit ovate. (Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 265.) An evergreen shrub, a native of the sea-coast of Georgia and Carolina, introduced in 1820, and flowering in May. The flowers are white, and the berries black, based by red calyxes, on thick red peduncles. We have not seen the plant.

■ 4. L. aggrega`TA Sims. The grouped-flowered Laurel, or Bay.

Identification. Sims Bot. Mag., t. 2497.

Engravings. Bot, Mag., t. 2497.; and our fig. 1170.

Spec. Char., &c. Evergreen. Leaves ovate-acuminate, 3-nerved, glaucous beneath. upon distinct pedicels, disposed in axillary groups, that are attended at the base with scaly, ovate, concave bracteas. (Sims in Bot. Mag., t. 2497.) An evergreen shrub, a native of China,

Flowers

introduced in 1821. The leaves are alternate, petiolated, of a yellowish or apple green on the upper side, and very glaucous on the under, with the three nerves uniting a little above the insertion of the petiole, and terminating short of the point of the leaf. The young shoots are axillary, and come out from among the flowers, and are furnished with several membranaceous slightly coloured scales, or a sort of stipules, which are very deciduous. It is rather tender; but, from the locality, where it is indigenous, it would probably succeed with very little protection against a conservative wall.

L fatens Ait, L. madeirénsis Lam, Persea for tens Spreng., is a native of Madeira, and the Canary Islands, introduced in 1760, and producing its greenish yellow flowers from March to October. In its native country it forms a small tree 20 ft. high; but in British gardens it is commonly kept in a green-house, or in a cold-pit. The plant, however, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, has stood out as a bush since 1831, and is now upwards of 4 ft. high. There can be little doubt that this, and the other species enumerated as half-hardy, would stand against a wall with very little protection. L. Mýrrha Lour. is a native of China, which has stood against a wall in the Horticultural Society's Garden since 1832. It is generally injured more or less when the winters are severe; but it always springs up again, and grows vigorously during summer.

L. indica L. is an evergreen tree, with noble foliage, which lives and attains a considerable size in our conservatories and green-houses; and

there can be little doubt that in the south of England it would live against a conservative wall, at least as well as the orange and the lemon.

C. Leaves deciduous.

5. L. SASSAFRAS L. The Sassafras Laurel, or Sassafras Tree.

Identification. Lin. Hort. Cliff., 154., Gron. Virg., 46.; Kalm It., 2. p. 270. 434.; Mill. Dict., No. 7.; Trew Ehret, t. 59, 60.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 2. p. 485.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonymes. Cornus más odorata, folio trifido, margine plano, Sassafras dicta, Pluk. Alm., 120, t. 222 f. 6, Catesb. Car., 1. p. 55. t. 55. Seligm. Av. Ic., 2. t. 10.; Sassafras arbor, ex Florida, ficulneo folio, Bauh. Pin., 431.; Sassafras sp. C. G. Nees Von Esenbeck; Persea Sássafras Spreng.; Laurier Sassafras, Fr. ; Sassafras Lorbeer, Ger.

Engravings. Trew Ehret, t. 59, 60.; Blackw. Herb., t. 267.; Giesecke Ic., fasc. 1. No. 9.; Pluk. Alm., t. 222. f. 6.; Catesb Car., 1. t. 55. ; Seligm. Av. Ic., 2. t. 10. ; and plates in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. 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 gland-like bodies, like those in the male flowers. (Nutt. Gen., i. p. 259.) A deciduous tree, from 40 ft. to 50 ft. high. A native of North America. Introduced in 1633, and flowering in April and May.

Varieties. Nuttall states (Gen. & Cat. N. A. P.) that the inhabitants of North and South Carolina distinguished two kinds of sassafras, the red and the white, calling the latter, also, the smooth. The red he identifies with the L., subgenus Euósmus Nutt., Sássafras L.; and the white or smooth he considers a species belonging to the same subgenus, which he calls L. E. álbida Nutt., and of which he has adduced the following characteristics. Its buds and younger branches are smooth and glaucous; its leaves are every where glabrous and thin, and the veins are obsolete on the under surface; the petiole is longer. He had not seen it in flower. The root is much more strongly camphorated than the root of the red sort (L. Sassafras), and is nearly white. This kind is better calculated to answer as a substitute for ochra (Hibiscus esculentus) than the L. Sassafras, from its buds and young branches being much more mucilaginous. It is abundant in North and South Carolina, from the Catawba Mountains to the east bank of the Santee, growing with L. Sassafras, which, in North Carolina, is less abundant. (Nut. Gen., i. p. 259, 260.)

Description, &c. The sassafras tree often grows, even in England, to the height of 40 ft. or 50 ft. (See plate of the tree at Syon, in our last Volume.) The leaves, which vary very much in size and shape, are covered, when they first appear, with a soft woolly down; they are generally deeply lobed, on long footstalks, and of a pale green; they fall off early in autumn. The flowers are of a greenish yellow, and but slightly odoriferous; the berries are oval, of a bright but deep blue, and contained in small dark red cups,

supported by long red peduncles. These berries are greedily devoured by birds, and consequently do not remain long on the tree. The bark of the young branches is smooth, and beautifully green; but, when old, it becomes of "a greyish colour, and is chapped into deep cracks. On cutting into it, it exhibits a dark dull red, a good deal resembling the colour of Peruvian bark." (Michx. N. Amer. Syl., ii. p. 146.) In the United States the sassafras is found as far north as lat. 43°; but it there appears only as a tall shrub, rarely exceeding 15 ft. or 20 ft. in height. In the neighbourhood of New York and Philadelphia, however, it grows to the height of 40 ft. or 50 ft., and attains a still greater size in the southern states. It is abundant from "Boston to the banks of the Mississippi, and from the shores of the ocean in Virginia to the remotest wilds of Upper Louisiana beyond the Missouri, comprising an extent in each direction of more than 1800 miles." (Michx.) "The sassafras, on account of its medicinal properties, was one of the first American trees which became known to Europeans. Monardez, in 1549, and after him Clusius," treat of its uses. Gerard calls it the ague tree, and says, that a decoction of its bark will cure agues, and many other diseases. The bark is still employed in medicine, that of the roots being preferred; and it is said to be an excellent sudorific. A decoction of the chips is well known as a remedy for scorbutic affections. In different parts of the United States, a tea is made of the flowers, which is considered very efficacious in purifying the blood. In Louisiana the leaves are used to thicken pottage; and in Virginia a beer is made of the young shoots. The sassafras chips which are sold in the English druggists' shops are formed of the wood of this tree; but what are called the sassafras nuts are the fruit of the Laúrus Pùcheri of the Flora Peruviana. (See Lindl. Nat. Syst. of Bot.) Bigelow says that this tree is produced in almost every part of the United States. "It not only inhabits every latitude from New England to Florida, but we are told it is also found in the forests of Mexico, and even in those of Brazil. Its peculiar foliage, and the spicy qualities of its bark, render it a prominent object of notice, and it seems to have been one of the earliest trees of the North American continent to attract the attention of Europeans. Its character, as an article of medicine, was at one time so high, that it commanded an extravagant price, and treatises were written to celebrate its virtues. It still retains a place in the best European pharmacopæias." (Bigelow's American Botany, vol. ii. p.141.) He adds that "the bark has an agreeable smell, and a fragrant spicy taste. The flavour of the root is more powerful than that of the branches; and both flavour and odour reside in a volatile oil, which is readily obtained from the bark by distillation. The bark and pith of the young twigs abound with a pure and delicate mucilage; and in this mucilage and the volatile oil all the medicinal virtues of the tree are contained. The bark and wood were formerly much celebrated in the cure of various complaints, particularly in rheumatism and dropsy; but they are now only recognised as forming a warm stimulant and diaphoretic." (Ibid.) The sassafras is of little value as a timber tree. In America, the wood, which is white or reddish, is sometimes used for making bedsteads and other articles of furniture, which are not liable to be attacked by insects, and have a most agreeable odour, which they retain as long as they are sheltered from the sun and rain. The wood is of very little esteem for fuel; and the "bark contains a great deal of air, and snaps while burning like that of the chestnut." (Michx.) The most interesting historical recollection connected with this tree is, that it may be said to have led to the discovery of America; as it was its strong fragrance, smelt by Columbus, that encouraged him to persevere when his crew mutinied, and enabled him to convince them that land was near at hand.

Soil, Propagation, &c. Any free soil, rather moist than dry, will suit this species, which is generally propagated from imported seeds, which should be sown or put in a rot-heap, as soon as received, as they remain a year, and sometimes two or three years, in the ground, before they come up. The sassafras may also be propagated by cuttings of the roots, or by suckers, which

the roots of old trees (at Syon, for example,) throw up in great abundance. The situation where the tree is finally planted should be sheltered; and, in the north of England and in Scotland, to insure fine foliage, it should be planted against a wall.

Statistics. Laurus Sassafras in England. In the environs of London, the largest tree is at Syon, where it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in., and of the head 29 ft. At Kew, it is 40 ft. high. In the Fulham Nursery, it is 30 ft. high. In the Mile End Nursery, it is 21 ft. high. South of London, in the Isle of Jersey, in Saunders's Nursery, 14 years planted, it is 12 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 9 in., and of the head 9 ft. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high, and the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 6 in. In Surrey, at St. Ann's Hill, 30 years planted, it is 22 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 2 in., and of the head 12 ft. North of London, in Worcestershire, at Croome, 40 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 9 in., and of the head 12 ft.

L. Sassafras in Scotland. In the Isle of Bute, at Mount Stewart, it is 10 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 in., and of the head 5 ft.

L Sassafras in Ireland. In the environs of Dublin, at Castletown, it is 28 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 6 in. North of Dublin, in Galway, at Coole, it is 19 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 12 in., and of the head 22 ft. In Louth, at Oriel Temple, 12 years planted, it is 9 ft. high, the diameter of head 5 ft.

L Sassafras in Foreign Countries. In France, at Sceaux, 10 years planted, it is 15 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of the head 6 ft. In the neighbourhood of Nantes, 24 years planted, it is 30 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. in diameter. In the Botanical Garden at Avranches, 29 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of the head 12 ft. In Italy, in Lombardy, at Monza, 12 years planted, it is 10 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of the head 5 ft. Commercial Statistics. Plants in the London nurseries, are 5s. each; and seeds 6s. a quart; at Bollwyller, plants are 2 francs and 30 cents each; and at New York, 25 cents.

6. L. BENZO IN L. The Benzoin Laurel, or Benjamin Tree. Identification. Lin. Hort. Cliff, 154.; Gron. Virg., 46.; Mill. Dict., No. 6.; Willd. Arb., 165.; Willd. Sp. PL, 2. p. 485.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonymes. Arbor virginiana citreæ vel limonii folio, Benzoinum fundens, Comm. Hort., 1. p. 189. t 97.; Laúrus æstivalis Wangh. Amer., 87.; L. Pseudo- Benzoin Mich. Fl. Amer., 1. p. 243. ; L. Euosmus Benzoin Nutt. Gen., 1. p. 259.; Benzoin, sp. C. G. Nees Von Esenbeck; Spice Bush, Spice Wood, or wild Allspice, Amer., according to Nuttall; Laurier faux Benzoin, Fr.; Benzoin Lorbeer, Ger.

Engravings. Comm. Hort., 1. t. 97.; Pluk. Alm., t. 139. f. 34; and our fig. 1171.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves cuneate-obovate, entire, the under side whitish and partly pubescent, deciduous. Sexes polygamous. Flowers in umbels. Buds and pedicels of the umbels glabrous. (Nutt. Gen., i. p. 259.) Leaves without nerves, ovate, acute at both ends. (Willd. Sp. Pl., ii. p. 485.) A deciduous shrub, a native of Virginia, where it grows to the height of 10 ft. or 12 ft. It was introduced in 1688, and is not unfrequent in collections. In British gardens, it forms a rather tender peat-earth shrub, handsome from its large leaves, but seldom thriving, except where the soil is kept moist and the situation sheltered. The bark of L. Benzoin is highly aromatic, stimulant, and tonic, and is extensively used in North America in intermittent fevers. The oil of the fruit is said to be stimulant. (Lindl. Nat. Syst. of Bot., on the information of Barton.) The true Benjamin tree, or gum benzoin, is not, as Ray supposed, this Laúrus Benzoin, but a species of Styrax; as was first shown by the late Mr. Dryander, in the Philoso

phical Transactions for 1787, p. 307, t. 12. (Rees's Cyclop.) Laúrus Benzoin is propagated from imported seeds, which require to be treated like those of Laurus Sassafras.

Statistics. The largest plant, in the neighbourhood of London, is at Ham House, where it is 15 ft. high; at Syon, it is 14 ft. high; at Kew, 6 ft high; in the Horticultural Society's Garden, 8 ft. high. In Sussex, at Westdean, 14 years planted, it is 12 ft. high. In Warwickshire, at Newnham Paddocks, 10 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In Worcestershire, at Croome, 15 years planted, it is 15 ft. high; at Hagley, 12 years planted, it is 6 ft. high. In Ireland, at Oriel Temple, 12 years planted, it is 6 ft. high. In Germany, near Vienna, at Brück on the Leytha, 25 years planted, it is 15 ft. high. At Berlin, in the Botanic Garden, 14 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Italy, at Monza, 24 years planted, it is 14 ft. high.