126 FXTHOEBIACE.E— SPURGE TRIBE 



medicine was made of Box-leaves, than it lost all its repute ; its hold on the 

 imagination was gone, and its eftects on the sufferer were lost. The decoc- 

 tion has doubtless powerful sudorific properties, and its taste is slightly bitter. 

 Pieces of the wood of this tree are in France used in brewing, instead of 

 hops ; and an infusion of Box is said to strengthen the hair. The honey of 

 Corsica was once believed to have been rendered unwliolesome from having 

 been gathered by the bees from the flowers of the Box. Bacon says, " It 

 seemeth there was, in old times, tree honey, as well as bee honey ; insomuch 

 as one of the ancients relateth, that in Trel)isonde there was honey issuing 

 from the Box-tree, which made men mad."' Modern commentators on the 

 classics, however, l^elieve that the noxious honey of Trebisonde was gathered 

 from the rhododendron. 



The Box-tree looks very pretty in May and June, when its numerous 

 small greenish-yellow flowers grow among the ' leaves. We haA^e often 

 wondered that the tree is not more frequentl}^ cultivated, for it is an ever- 

 green, and will thri^'e in most gardens. It must, however, be admitted, that 

 the man who plants it either for use or beauty, can scarcely himself expect 

 to sit beneath its shadow, or to profit hy its wood ; for it grows very slowly. 

 Its boughs were, in olden times, regularly gathered at Whitsuntide, for 

 decking the large open fire-places of our ancestors ; and it was formerly used 

 instead of the willow on Palm Sundays. An instance of the great antiquity 

 of this practice is given in the Domesday Book, the records of which show 

 that the tenant rendered as part of his payment a bundle of Box twigs for 

 Palm Sunday. The old custom of each mourner carrying a sprig of Box at 

 a funeral, and throwing it in the grave, still lingers in the north of England ; 

 and Wordsworth, referring to the practice, says : — 



"Fresh sprigs of green Box-wood, not six months before, 

 Filled the funeral basin at Timothy's door." 



In Turkey also, the widow, who goes weekly to pray at the tomi) of her 

 husband, plants a sprig of Box at the head of the grave. 



The French call this tree Le Bins ; the Germans, Der Buclis ; while the 

 Dutch term it Palm. It is the Busso of the Italians, and the Box of the 

 Spaniards. 



Order LXXVII. URTICACE^— NETTLE TRIBE. 



Stamens and pistils usually in separate flowers, and in some cases on 

 separate plants; flowers rarely perfect; perianth divided, not falling off, 

 sometimes wanting ; stamens equal in number to the lobes of the perianth, 

 and opposite to them ; anthers curved inwards in the bud ; ovary 1, simple ; 

 fruit a hard and dry 1-seeded capsule. This order comprises trees, shrubs, 

 and herbs with stipules, some with milky juices, and some with stinging 

 hairs. Though we have but few British genera in this order, yet some very 

 valuable and remarkable exotic plants belong to it. 



1. Urtica. — Stamens and pistils in separate flowers on the same or 

 different plants; barren flower, perianth of 4 equal segments, stamens 4; 



