BAY. 55 



sold for twenty pounds ; and, doubtless," adds he, " as 

 good might be raised here, were our gardeners as in- 

 dustrious to cultivate and shape them. I wonder we 

 plant not whole groves of them, and abroad, they being 

 hardy enough, grow upright, and would make a noble 

 Daphneon." 



Virgil celebrates the filial affection of the Bay, where, 

 speaking of the different methods of propagating trees, 

 he says, 



" Others have a thick wood arousing from their roots ; as cherries, 

 and elms : the little Parnassian bay also shelters itself under the great 

 shade of its mother." — Martyn's Translation, p. 114. 



This would not, perhaps, convey to us so strong a 

 meaning, did we not know, as Evelyn informs us, that 

 while young, this tree thrives not well any- where but un- 

 der its " mother's shade ; where nothing else will thrive.'" 



The Bay is a native of Asia, and the southern parts of 

 Europe : it is not uncommon in the woods and hedges in 

 Italy. The Abbe St. Pierre observes, " that it grows in 

 abundance on the banks of the river Peneus, in Thessaly, 

 which might well give occasion to the fable of the meta- 

 morphosis of Daphne, the daughter of that river." 



It may be raised from berries, suckers, cuttings, or 

 layers : it will bear the open air, and, when grown to a 

 tolerable size, requires no other care than to water it oc- 

 casionally in dry weather, to prune it in the spring, and 

 to shift it into a larger pot when it has outgrown the old 

 one. In doing this, the earth must not be cleared from 

 the roots. A Bay- tree must not be hastily dismissed when 

 it appears dead, but should be preserved till the second 

 year ; for when past hope of recovery, they will often re- 

 vive, and flourish again as well as ever. 



The Bay, which is the meed of the poet, a poet only 



