1298 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART II}. 
Pallas mentions having found it in Tauria. The exact date of its introduc- 
tion into Britain is unknown, but it must have been previous to 1562, as it is 
mentioned in Turner’s Herbal, published in that year; and we find that, in 
the reign of Elizabeth, the floors of the houses of distinguished persons were 
strewed with bay leaves. It was formerly considered medicinal, both leaves 
and berries being highly aromatic and stomachic; they are also astringent 
and carminative. An infusion of them was not only considered beneficial, 
when taken internally, but it was used for fomentations, &c. At present, the 
principal use of the tree is as an ornamental plant, though the leaves are still 
employed for flavouring custards, blancmange, &c. In mythology this tree is 
celebrated as having once been Daphne, the daughter of Peneus, who, flying 
from the embraces of Apollo,and reaching the banks of her parent stream, called 
on the river god for aid, and was changed into a laurel. In the age of 
Roman greatness, this tree was considered as the emblem of victory, and also 
of clemency. The victorious generals were crowned with it in their triumphal 
processions ; every common soldier carried a sprig of it in his hand; and 
even the dispatches announcing a victory were wrapped up in, and ornamented 
with, leaves of bay. The aromatic odour of these trees was supposed by the 
ancient Romans to have the power of dispelling contagion, and during a pes- 
tilence the Emperor Claudius removed his court to Laurentine, so celebrated 
for its bay trees. Theophrastus tells us that superstitious Greeks would 
keep a bay leaf in their mouths all day, to preserve themselves from misfor- 
tunes. The Greeks had also diviners who were called Daphnephagi, be- 
cause they chewed bay leaves, which they pretended inspired them with the 
spirit of prophecy. The bay was dedicated to Apollo, and the first temple 
raised to that god at Delphi was formed of the branches of the tree. It 
was the favourite tree of the poets: and we are told that Maia, the mother of 
Virgil, dreamt that she was delivered of a bay tree; and that one of these 
trees sprang from Virgil’s ashes, and is still growing over his tomb, In later 
times it was supposed to be a safeguard against lightning; and Madame De 
Genlis mentions the device of the Count De Dunois, which was a bay tree, 
with the motto “ I defend the earth that bears me.” It was a custom in the 
middle ages, to place wreaths of laurel, with the berries on, on the heads of 
those poets who had particularly distinguished themselves; hence our ex- 
pression, poet laureate. ‘ Students who have taken their degrees at the 
universities are called bachelors, from the French bachelier, which is derived 
from the Latin baccalaureus, a laurel berry. These students were not allowed 
to marry, lest the duties of husband and father should take them from their 
literary pursuits; and, in time, all single men were called bachelors.” (Sylva 
Flor.,i. p.115.) This tree is mentioned by Chaucer as the crown of the 
Knights of the Round Table. 
Soil, Propagation, §c. The Latrus nébilis requires a good free soil, and 
it will not thrive in the open air, in a climate much colder than that of the 
environs of London. It is generally propagated by layers ; but as the berries 
are ripened in the south of England, and can be had in abundance from 
France, the species is very generally increased from seeds, and the varieties 
only raised from layers or cuttings. As an evergreen shrub, not only beau- 
tiful in itself, but connected with many classical and interesting associations, 
it ought to have a place in every collection. As it forms a dense conical 
bush, when not trained to a single stem, it is well adapted for garden hedges. 
This tree is very tenacious of life, and the root or stump of an apparently 
dead tree will often send up suckers two years after it has appeared to 
be dead. 
Statistics. Lavtrus nébilis in the Environs of London. There are plants upward of 20 ft. high, at 
various places, the largest of which, that we have seen, is a plant at Syon 28 ft. high, forming an 
immense conical bush, 18 ft. in diameter at the base. Therate of growth in the neighbourhood of 
London, as deduced from the dimensions of several young plants sent us, is about 15ft. in height, in 
10 years. 
urus nobilis South of London. The largest tree of this species in England is at Margram in 
Glamorganshire, the seat of C.P.Talbot, Esq., M.P., about 12 miles from Swansea. It is 61 ft. 6 in. high, 
and forms a magnificent bell-shaped bush, about 60ft. in diameter at the base. In Devonshire, 
