appears to have been equally the case in Europe in modern times; gardeners, even so late as the time of the Commonwealth, being called by Commenius pleachers (See Janua Trilinguis, Oxford edit.) About the middle of the seventeenth century, the taste for verdant sculpture was at its height in England; and, about the beginning of the eighteenth, it afforded a subject of raillery for the wits of the day, soon afterwards beginning to decline. There are some humorous papers on the subject in the Guardian, and other contemporary works. The following lines will give a good idea of a topiary garden :—

In modern Gardening, the tree box forms one of our most valuable evergreen shrubs or low trees. It is more particularly eligible as an undergrowth in ornamental plantations; where, partially shaded by other trees, its leaves take a deeper green, and shine more conspicuously. Next to the holly, it has the most beautiful appearance in winter; more especially when the ground is covered with snow. The variegated sorts are admissible as objects of curiosity; but, as they are apt to lose their variegation when planted in the shade, and as, in the full light, their green is frequently of a sickly yellowish hue, we do not think that they can be recommended as ornamental. The myrtle-leaved forms a very handsome small bush on a lawn. The use of the dwarf box for edgings is familiar to every one.

The other Uses of the box, in former times, were various; but most of them are now almost forgotten. The bark and leaves are bitter, and have a disagreeable smell; and a decoction of them, when taken in a large dose, is said to be purgative; and, in a small dose, sudorific. An empyreumatic oil is extracted from them, which is said to cure the toothach and some other disorders. A tincture was made from them, which was once a celebrated specific in Germany for intermittent fevers; but, the secret having been purchased and made public by Joseph I., the medicine fell into disuse. Olivier de Serres (Théât. d'Agri.) recommends the branches and leaves of the box, as by far the best manure for the grape; not only because it is very common in the south of France, but because there is no plant that by its decomposition affords a greater quantity of vegetable mould. The box is said to enter into the composition of various medicated oils for strengthening and increasing the growth of the hair; and Parkinson says that "the leaves and sawdust, boiled in lie, will change the hair to an auburn colour." Box is sometimes substituted for holly in the churches at Christmas; and, in a note to Wordsworth's poems, we are informed that, "in several parts of the north of England, when a funeral takes place, a basinful of sprigs of box is placed at the door of the house from which the coffin is taken up; and each person who attends the funeral takes one of these sprigs, and throws it into the grave of the deceased." (Words. Poems, vol. i. p. 163.) The box is the badge of the Highland clan M'Intosh; and the variegated kind, of the clan M'Pherson. (Baxt. Brit. Fl. Pl., ii. t. 142.) Pliny affirms that no animal will eat the seed of the box; and it is said that its leaves are particularly poisonous to camels. It is also asserted by many authors that box trees are never cropped by cattle; and that the Corsican honey is rendered poisonous from the bees feeding on the flowers of the box. Propagation and Culture. The box is propagated by seeds, cuttings, and layers. It seeds freely where it is allowed to grow freely; but, where it is

closely clipped in, the seeds are seldom permitted to ripen. When the seeds are to be sown, they should be gathered the moment the capsules appear ready to open, and sown immediately in light rich earth, consisting chiefly of vegetable mould, which is well drained, so that the water may never lie on the seeds. Cuttings of from 4 in. to 6 in. in length should be put in, in autumn, in a sandy soil, and a shaded situation, and in a year they will be fit to transplant into nursery lines. Layers may be made either in the spring or autumn, and either of the young or old wood. The dwarf box used for edgings is propagated by being taken up, divided, and replanted. The roots of the box, being numerous and small, though by no means hair-like, like those of the Ericàceæ, retain the earth about them; so that plants of box always come up with a ball; and hence the tree may be transplanted at almost any season, provided, if in summer, that the weather be moist at the time. Box edgings are best planted early in spring, because the frost in winter is apt to destroy those leaves which have been cut in trimming the plants. Box edgings and hedges may be clipped at almost any season, except midwinter. Some gardeners prefer trimming box edgings in June, just when the plants have nearly completed their year's shoots; because they will afterwards make shoots of in or 1 in. in length, or, at all events, protrude a few leaves, and thus, in a week or two, will conceal all appearance of the use of the shears. When this practice is followed, it is necessary to go over the edgings or hedges in July, in order to cut neatly off with the knife any shoots that may have been protruded too far; taking care not to cut the leaves. The more common practice is to clip the box in autumn; but in that case, as many of the leaves are injured by the shears, their marks remain till the middle of the following May. The edging or hedge looks well for a fortnight at that season; but afterwards it has rather a neglected appearance, till the next trimming season, which is in the beginning of September. The superiority of the June clipping must be obvious, whether applied to edgings, hedges, or mural or sculpturesque ornaments. Box edgings, when kept low, if they are wanted to endure many years, require occasionally to be cut in almost to the ground; and this operation should only be performed on one side of the edging in one year, and not on the other side till the second year following. When treated in this way, both edgings and hedges will, on good loamy soil, last an extraordinary length of time; whereas, if they are continually clipped on the surface only, a network of shoots is formed there, which, by excluding the air from the stem within, occasions the decay of the weakest; and the edging or hedge becomes naked below, and unsightly. Sometimes this evil may be remedied by cutting down; but, in general, the best mode is to replant. The form of the section of a box edging or hedge should always be that of a truncated triangle; the broadest end being that next to the ground. In the case of edgings to walks, or to flowerbeds, their breadth at the ground may be 3 in., the height 4in., and the breadth at top 2 in.; or half these dimensions may be adopted. In every case, both of edgings and hedges, the base ought always to be broader than the summit, in order that the rain may fall on the sides, and the light of the sun strike on them with more force. In clipping box trees into artificial forms, it is usual to enclose the tree in a slight frame of wirework of the form proposed: the wire should be copper, and painted green, for the sake of durability, and to render it inconspicuous. The same kind of skeleton wirework, or trellis-work, is put up for mural and architectural topiary work.

Insects and Diseases. The box is very rarely attacked by insects, and has very few diseases. There is a proliferous growth of leaves at the points of the shoots, which appears in some seasons, and is probably occasioned by the puncture of an insect, but of what species we are not aware. The fungus Puccinia Búxi Grev. (fig. 1219.) is found occasionally on the leaves.

1219

Statistics. The largest box trees in the neighbourhood of London are at Syon, where there are various trees from 13 ft. to 16 ft. in height. There is also one at Kew, 15 ft. high. In the Oxford Botanic Garden, there are two old box trees, one of which, in 1835, was 21 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 74 in., and of the head 18 ft. The largest box hedge in England is at Petworth, where it is more than 12 ft. broad at the bottom, 15 ft. high, and 40 yards long: it is supposed to be upwards of two centuries old. The oldest sculpturesque topiary works in England are in the garden at Leven's Grove, in Westmoreland, laid out in the time of James II. In Scotland, at West Plean, near Stirling, there is a box tree, 10 years planted, that is 6 ft. high. In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, a box tree, upwards of 100 years planted, has attained the height of 30 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Plants of the tree box, in the London nurseries, aro from 6d. to 1s. 6d. each, according to the size of the variety: at Bollwyller plants of the species are 50 cents each; and of the varieties, from 1 franc to 1 francs each at New York, plants, or the tree kind are 25 cents each; and of its varieties, 374 cents. The dwarf box is sold, in English nurseries, at 6d. per yard; at New York, at 50 cents per yard.

2. B. BALEA'RICA Willd. The Balearic Box. Identification. Willd. Arb., 50., Sp. Pl. 4, p. 337.; ?Lam. Encyc., 1. p. 505. Synonymes. B. 8. var. gigantea N. Du Ham., 1. p. 82.; Minorca Box; Buis de Minorque, Buis de Mahon, Fr.; Balearischer Buchsbaum, Ger. Engravings. N. Du Ham., pl. 23. f. 1; and our figs. 1220. and 1221. Spec. Char., &c. Disk of leaf oblong; footstalk glabrous. Anthers arrow-shaped, linear. (Willd. Sp. Pl., iv. p. 338.) A native of Minorca, Sardinia, and Corsica; and growing there, according to the Nouveau Du Hamel, to the height of 80 ft. It is also found in great abundance on all the rocky surfaces both of European and Asiatic Turkey. It was first brought to France about 1770; whence it was introduced into England in 1780. In both countries, it was at first treated as a green-house plant; but it was afterwards found quite hardy. In Paris, according to the Nouveau Du Hamel, it was found to resist the severe frosts of 1794 and

1220

1799. The Balearic box is a very handsome species, with leaves three times as large as those of B. sempervirens, and a straight smooth trunk. The leaves, when the plant is fully exposed to the air, are of a much paler green than those of the common box; but, when they are in the shade, they are of an intensely deep green. The wood is said to be of a brighter yellow than that of the common box. It is sent to England in large quantities from Constantinople, for the use of the woodengravers; but, being of a coarser grain, it

1221

is inferior to that of the B. sempervirens. It is propagated by cuttings, which, if placed in sandy soil under glass, or in heat, generally strike root in about two months after being taken off. Cuttings will also succeed, if treated like those of the common box.

Statistics. The largest plant within 10 miles of London is at Kew, where it is 13 ft. high. At Walton on Thames, at Lady Tankerville's, it is 10 ft. high. In Sussex, at Arundel Castle, it is 17 ft. high. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, 1s. 6d. each; at New York, where it requires protecLion during winter, 37 cents.

App. i. Half-hardy Species of Búxus.

B. chinensis Lk. is a native of China, introduced in 1802, and growing about 3 ft. high; and B. australis Cun. is a native of New Holland, growing about 6 ft. high. Both require protection during winter, but would probably succeed against a conservative wall.

A true species of Búxus, Mr. Royle observes, is common in the Himalayas, found chiefly in valleys, as at Mugra, Kamaon, &c. It grows to a considerable size and thickness, and the wood appears as compact and good as that of the common box.

App. I. Half-hardy Species belonging to the Order Euphorbiaceæ.

On looking over the genera belonging to this order in the Hortus Britannicus, several ligneous species will be observed indicated as requiring the green-house; but, as very few of them are of much beauty, we consider it unnecessary to go into many details respecting them.

Plagianthus divaricatus Forst., t. 43., is a native of New Zealand, and was introduced in 1822. It is tolerably hardy; a plant having lived with us at Bayswater, with very little protection, since 1829. P. sidoides Hook. Bot. Mag., t. 3396., is a twiggy shrub, from 2 ft. to 3ft. high, probably also as hardy as the other. Both species flower in April.

Cluýtia alaternöldes Bot. Mag., t. 1321., has been an inhabitant of our green-houses since 1692. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and would probably stand against a conservative wall.

CHAP. C.

OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER URTICA CEÆ.

THESE are included in five genera, which have their names and characters below.

MO`RUS Tourn. Flowers unisexual; those of the 2 sexes, in most species, upon the same plant; in M. nigra Poir., and, according to Gronovius (Virg., 146.), in M. rùbra L., upon distinct plants: according to Kalm (Act. Suec., 1776), the sexes of M. rùbra L. are polygamous.-Male flowers disposed in a drooping, peduncled, axillary spike. Calyx of 4 equal sepals, imbricate in æstivation, expanded in flowering. Stamens 4. A rudiment of a pistil is present.- Female flowers in ovate erect spikes. Calyx of 4 leaves, in opposite pairs, the outer pair the larger, all upright and persistent, becoming pulpy and juicy. Ovary of 2 cells, one including one pendulous ovule, the other devoid of any. Stigmas 2, long. In the state of ripeness, each ovary is a fleshy and juicy utricle, and is covered by the fleshy and juicy calyx: the aggregate of the ovaries and the calyxes from a spike of flowers constitutes what is termed a mulberry. Seed pendulous

Species several; natives of Asia, south of Europe, and North America. Trees. Sap white. Leaves alternate, large, mostly lobed, and rough; the favourite food of the silk-moth (Bombyx mòri F.) in its caterpillar state. (Chiefly from T. Nees ab Esenbeck, Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ.) BROUSSONE TIA L'Hérit. Flowers unisexual; those of the two sexes upon distinct plants. Male flowers in pendulous cylindrical catkins; each flower in the axil of a bractea. Calyx shortly tubular, then 4-parted. Stamens 4, elastic.-Female flowers in peduncled, axillary, upright globular heads. Calyx tubular, its tip with 3-4 teeth. Ovary within an integument that arises from the bottom of the calyx. Style lateral, prominent, Stigma taper. Fruit club-shaped, proceeding from the bottom of the calyx, and extended much beyond its tip; and consisting of the integument in which the ovary was enclosed, and now become very juicy; and of a 1-seeded oval utricle with a crustaceous integument, and enclosed within the juicy. integument. Species 1, native to Japan and the isles of the Pacific Ocean. A tree, with leaves large, lobed or not, and hairy. (Du Hamel, Traité des Arbres, ed. nouv.; and the Penny Cyclopædia.)

MACLU RA Nuttall. Flowers unisexual; in M. aurantiaca Nutt., and M. tinctòria D. Don, those of the two sexes upon distinct plants; if not so in the rest, then upon the same plant. What follows relates to M. aurantiaca Nutt.-Male flowers in a very short almost sessile racemose panicle of 12 or more flowers. Calyx 4-parted. Stamens 4, in some instances 3.Female flowers closely aggregate upon an axis, and forming a globular head that is borne upon a short axillary peduncle. Calyx oblong, urceolar, apparently with 4 lobes at the tip: it includes the ovary, which is situated above its base, and is terminated by a style that is thread-shaped, downy, and protruded beyond the calyx to the length of nearly 1 in. The ovary becomes an achenium about in. long, half as much broad, compressed, oval, with the tip blunt and unsymmetrical from an indentation on one side in which the style had been attached. A tree, native of North America. Spiny spines axillary. Sap white. Leaves alternate, ovate. Stipules minute, deciduous. (Nuttall; Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 312-316., and vol. xii. p. 210.; and observation.)

Ficus Tourn. Flowers inserted upon the interior surface of a hollow globular or pear-shaped fleshy receptacle, in whose tip is an orifice closed with small scales; minute, many within a receptacle; those in the upper part male, the rest female; or the flowers of each sex occupy distinct receptacles upon distinct plants. - Male flower. Calyx 3-parted. Stamens 3.-Female flower. Calyx 5-cleft, having a tube that invests a threadshaped stalk that bears the pistil. Stalk adnate to the ovary on one side, and extending to the base of the style: the style is inserted rather laterally. Ovary with 1 cell and 1 ovule. Stigmas 2. Fruit a utricle. Seed pendulous. Embryo falcate, in the centre of fleshy albumen. - Species numerous. Trees or shrubs, occurrent in the warmer regions of both hemispheres. F. Cárica inhabits the south of Europe. Sap white. Leaves alternate, stipulate. Stipules large, convolute, deciduous. (T. Nees ab Esenbeck, Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ. Most of the characters are taken from F. Cárica L.) BO`RYA Willd. Flowers unisexual: those of the two sexes upon distinct plants. - Male flower. Calyx minute, in 4 deep segments. Stamens 2—3.

Female flower. Calyx inferior, in 4 deep segments, that are deciduous; two opposite ones very minute, and in some instances not present. Ovary roundish-ovate: it has 2 cells. Style short. Stigma capitate, depressed, obscurely cloven. Fruit pulpy, oval-oblong, with I cell. Seed mostly solitary; its skin membranous, its embryo straight, its albumen horny.-Species 5; 4 native of North America, 1 of the West Indies: all shrubs, with their leaves opposite, or nearly so, mostly smooth and entire; and their flowers minute, axillary, fascicled and bracteated. (Smith, under Bigelòvia in Rees's Cycl.; Nuttall in Gen.; and observation.)

MO`RUS Tourn. THE MULBERRY TREE. Lin. Syst. Mona'cia Tetrandria. Identification. Tourn., quoted by T. Nees ab Esenbeck, in his Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ.; Schreb. Lin. Gen. Pl., No. 1424; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 368.; T. Nees ab Esenbeck Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ., fasc. 3.

No. 5.

Synonymes. Mûrier, Fr.; Maulbeere, Ger.

Derivation. Several derivations have been given for the word Morus: some suppose it to be taken from the Greek word morea, or moron, signifying a mulberry or blackberry; others derive it from mauros, dark; and Sir J. E. Smith suggests that it may have been taken by antiphrasis from mōros, foolish, the mulberry tree, from its slowness in putting out its leaves, being anciently considered the emblem of wisdom. The Morea, in the Levant, is said to be so called from the resemblance of the shape of that peninsula to the leaf of a mulberry.

Description, &c. Deciduous trees, natives of Europe, Asia, and America, remarkable for their large leaves, which are mostly lobed, and which, in a state of cultivation, are liable to great variation in point of magnitude, form, and texture. They are easily propagated by seeds, layers, cuttings, and truncheons; every part of the mulberry, like the olive, taking root easily, and forming a tree. All the species will serve to nourish the silkworm; but M. álba, and its varieties, are considered much the best for this purpose. In warm climates, such as Persia, the leaves of M. nìgra are sufficiently succulent for feeding the silkworm; but in colder countries they do not answer equally well.

1. M. NIGRA Poir. The black-fruited, or common, Mulberry. Identification. Poir. Ency. Méth., 4. p. 377. ; Lin. Sp. Pl., 1398.; Hort. Cliff., 441.; Mart. Mill., No.2. ; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 369.

Synonymes. Morus Dod. Pempt., 810.; M. frúctu nigro Bauh. Pin., 459.

Engravings. Ludw. Ectypa Veg., t. 114.; Blackw., t. 126.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 159.; N. Du Ham., 4. t. 22.; and the plate in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., &c. Sexes monoecious, sometimes dioecious. Leaves heart-shaped, bluntish, or slightly lobed with about 5 lobes; toothed with unequal teeth,