The white blossoms of this plant, with their numerous and conspicuous stamens surrounding the centre, are very pretty; but even when no bloom is on them, the myrtles are always beautiful. Their foliage is of so deep and soft a green, and has so polished a surface, that when they stand in the sunshine reflecting the rays, they may remind us of what Professor Wilson said of some other plants, that "they are shrubs, whose leaves of light have no need of flowers."

Several species of Myrtle, all natives of warm climates, have been cultivated in England. The common myrtle (Myrtus commúnis) is known to every one; it is the myrtle of Palestinethe myrtle of the Scriptures, and has several varieties. One variety, the broad-leaved Jew's myrtle (as it is generally called), on which the leaves grow in threes at each joint, is in much request among the Jews. It is interesting to remark, that though far from the land of their fathers, and nationally degraded, this ancient people still retain many of the ceremonies prescribed in other times, and under other circum

stances; and yearly do the Jews keep the Feast of the Tabernacles, by gathering "the boughs of goodly trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and the willow of the brook." Still do they, as far as may be, conform to the command of the prophet, who exhorted them, when about to celebrate this annual festival, to "go forth into the mount and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths as it is written." The myrtle to which Nehemiah referred, is the common myrtle, and was then, and still is, very abundant in Judea. The Jewish people attach some particular veneration to this broad-leaved variety of it, and are anxious to procure it on this and similar occasions. This kind is therefore cultivated for their especial use, by nurserymen who supply the London market, and it can often be procured only at a great expense.

The name of the myrtle is derived from a Greek word signifying perfume. The volatile oil, which exists in glands in the bark and

leaves of this plant, is the cause of its sweet odour. It is thought to have considerable effect in improving the hair, and is therefore a frequent ingredient in the pomade employed for this purpose. The whole plant has a singularly astringent property, and this is peculiarly partaken by the oil. An amusing anecdote, taken from the "Dictionnaire Portatif d'Histoire Naturelle," may serve to prove its astringent nature. A gentleman who was accidentally left alone in the boudoir of a lady, employed himself in examining the contents of several vases, which were scattered about the room. Not being altogether destitute of that failing so generally attributed to the female sex, he placed himself before a glass, and endeavoured to improve the beauty of his lips, by putting upon them some pomade containing myrtle oil. He was interrupted in the operation by the unexpected entrance of the lady, whom he was awaiting; and the youth upon attempting to address her, found his lips completely closed by the adhesive property of the pomade. A

sudden glance at the open vase in which it was contained, explained to the lady the cause of his dilemma, and produced a burst of laughter at his expense, which, if it had not the effect of curing his vanity, would at least render him. more cautious in its indulgence.

The fragrant essences of different kinds which are prepared by the perfumer, are the volatile oils of plants, and are extracted either by the process of expression, or by that of distillation. The aroma which delights us far more than the perfume which we purchase-that odour of spicy shrub or flower which is borne upon the gale, or crushed out from the plants at our feet, is the more evaporable part of their volatile oils, escaping from their reservoirs in the blossom, leaves, or bark. Every plant which delights us by its fragrance, which contributes its sweetness to the breath of morning or evening, has a peculiar volatile oil.

The myrtle is a very favourite plant of eastern countries. Mr. Lane mentions that, in the esteem of the Arabs, it rivals the violet.

Their tradition is that "Adam fell down from Paradise with three things: the myrtle, which is the chief of sweet-scented flowers in this world; an ear of wheat, which is the chief of all kinds of food in this world; and pressed dates, which are the chief of the fruits of this world."

The particular attention given to odorous shrubs by the ancients, rendered the myrtle an object of great regard among them. They dedicated it to Venus, either because it often grows near the sea, whence she is said to have arisen, or because the sweet and unfading nature of its foliage might seem to render it a suitable tribute to the goddess of beauty. The richer climate of Greece strengthens the perfumes of plants, and the groves so renowned in song were planted so that he who wandered among them was greeted by a succession of odours from shrubs so arranged as to diffuse it abundantly; and when the light shower was succeeded by the rainbow, and earth sent up in her freshness the richest perfume, then they imagined that the