PRIVET IS 



PRIVET (LiGusTRUM Vulgare) 



Noticeable from their sombre colour amongst the other 

 wild fruits of the countryside are the clusters of black 

 berries of the privet. Though so commonly found in 

 our hedgerows, the privet is really a wild plant ; its true 

 home is in the woods and copses, where it attains a height 

 of some seven or eight feet, and it is found in this wild 

 state over most of Europe and throughout Western Asia. 

 It forms the subject of our second illustration. 



The privet cannot quite be classed as an evergreen, 

 though it practically amounts to this, since most of the 

 leaves remain on the stems until they are thrust off by the 

 succeeding growth in Spring. When the season is a hard 

 one, or the position is exposed the foliage often assumes 

 a dull purple or bronze-colour. The leaves, it will be 

 noticed in our illustration, grow in pairs, are very simple in 

 form, and have their margins one continuous line ; there is 

 no notching of their edges. They are bitter and astringent 

 to the taste, so that they offer no great temptation to 

 horses or cattle, though we sometimes find sheep and 

 goats will nibble at them. 



The flowers of the privet are found in IVIay and 

 June, growing in dense clusters at the ends of the upper 

 stems. They are white in colour, and have a strong 

 and not altogether agreeable odour. Such at least is 

 our own verdict, but tastes proverbially differ, and we see 

 that one writer calls them " sweet scented blossoms," 

 while another credits them with " possessing an agreeable 

 fragrance." After these somewhat offensive or altogether 

 delightful flowers succeed the berries, and these, if un- 



