THE MYRTLE TRIBE OF PLANTS. 



405 



to its title, in brackets, two asterisks ; if 

 wholly selected, one; and if entirely ori- 

 ginal, no such indication will appear. 

 Against the charge of " false quotations, 

 misrepresentations, &c.," I shall ever be 

 ready to answer, where such charge is 

 made by a correspondent of reputation and 

 veracity ; for I cannot admit that any other 

 has the least claim to notice. Hoping that 

 I am now fully understood, I proceed to the 

 development of the subject which heads 

 this paper. 



With an exception in favor of the rose, 

 that universal charmer, the theme of the 

 poet, and the pride of every garden, we 

 are not aware of any plant which is better 

 calculated to elicit pleasurable associations 

 than the myrtle. As one of the loveliest of 

 levergreens, elegant in its growth, graceful 

 in its figure, its leaves are not only beau- 

 tiful, but they abound with a fragrant es- 

 sential oil of peculiar quality ; and its 

 -flotcers of dazzling white, pencilled with 

 light airy stamens, each supporting a beau- 

 tiful anther, are absolutely "redolent of 

 sweets." 



This charming evergreen is so retentive 

 of its brilliant foliage, that, to quote the 

 expression of Dr. Lindley, it seems as if it 

 ■^' were intended to make us forget that 

 winter has power over vegetation." It is 

 not our intention, however, to make the 

 beauties of this species the chief subject of 

 the present article ; we select it as the type 

 of an order, from which we hope to point 

 out a i^^i of the characteristics of what is 

 now, 'par excellence, designated — " The Na- 

 tural System of Botamj.^^ We do this with 

 the greater pleasure, because the members 

 of the tribe are generally plants of great 

 elegance, and further possess a peculiarity 

 of structure which may very happily be ad- 

 duced to explain the construction of this 

 natural system, and to point out hoio it dif- 



fers from the artificial classification of Lin- 

 neeus. 



The study of botany is as enchanting as 

 it is useful ; therefore, it is a pity its pur- 

 suit should be hampered by difficulties ; 

 but so it is with everything of man's in- 

 vention, and we must submit. Yet we 

 counsel not that those who have been edu- 

 cated in the Linnsean system shall abandon 

 it. The rather do we say — "go on; you 

 have proved by experience the facilities it 

 affords, the light it communicates ; but let 

 not prejudice arm you against that classifi- 

 cation which embraces and teaches the 

 physiological structure of the vegetable or- 

 ganization." 



To those students whose opinions are 

 still immature, we recommend the impartial 

 investigation of the elements of both sys- 

 tems- If but a mere insight into the lead- 

 ing principles of the natural system be de- 

 sired, enough will be found in Dr. Lind- 

 ley's " Ladies' Botany," and in the work 

 of the " Society for the Diffusion of Useful 

 Knowledge." If more than an insight is 

 required, the student must make himself 

 acquainted with the principles of the sci- 

 ence of physiological hotany, and expect to 

 encounter difficulties and perplexities in 

 his progress at every step. If, on the other 

 hand, he only wishes to discriminate gene- 

 ra, to be able to classify plants, and give 

 them " a local habitation and a name," we 

 bid him go to the classification of Linnaeus. 

 There he will find light, precision, and ar- 

 rangement, almost perfect, while the natu- 

 ral system even now, though improved by 

 the zeal of a Lindley, is unfinished, unset- 

 tled, revised, added to, and altered per- 

 petually. 



But, putting aside all merits and defi- 

 ciencies in that system, let us at once pro- 

 ceed to the elucidation of our subject, as at 

 first proposed. 



