1300 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART IT]. 
to 20in. in diameter, yet rarely exhi- 
bits a regular form: its trunk is gene- 
rally crooked, and divided into several 
thick limbs at 8 ft., 10 ft., or 12 ft. from 
the ground. In America, Michaux tells 
us, “ upon old trunks the bark is thick, 
and deeply furrowed; that of the young 
branches, on the contrary, is smooth, 
and of a beautiful green colour. The 
leaves are about Gin. long, alternate, 
oval-acuminate, glaucous on the lower 
surface, and evergreen. When bruised 2 
they diffuse a strong odour, resembling St ge 
that of the sweet bay (Latrus nobilis), y wa" 8 
and may, like those of that species, be employed in cookery.” (Micha. North 
Amer. Syl., ii. p.151.)* The male flowers come out in long bunches from the 
axils of the leaves ; and the female flowers in loose bunches on pretty long 
red peduncles. The berries are of a dark rich blue, in red cups, and they 
grow two, and sometimes three, together. The red bay is found in the lower 
part of Virginia, and it continues in abundance throughout the maritime dis- 
tricts of the Carolinas, Georgia, the two Floridas, and Lower Louisiana. 
Mixed with the sweet bay (Latrus nobilis), tupelo (Nyssa biflora), red 
maple (A\cer rbbrum), and water oak (Quércus aquatica), it fills the broad 
swamps which intersect the pine barrens. A cool and humid soil appears 
essential to its growth ; and it is remarked, that the farther south it grows, 
the more vigorous and beautiful is its vegetation. It was discovered by 
Catesby, and described and figured by him in his work on Carolina; Miller 
cultivated it in 1739. In France, Plumier constituted it a genus, to which 
he gave the name of Borbonia in honour of Gaston de Bourbon, son of 
Henry IV., and uncle of Louis XIV. In America, the wood of the red 
bay is used for cabinet-making, as it is very strong, and of a beautiful rose- 
colour, has a fine compact grain, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish, 
having the appearance, as Catesby tells us, of watered satin. Before mahogany 
became the reigning fashion in cabinet-making, Michaux observes, the wood 
of the red bay was commonly employed in the southern states of North 
America by the cabinet-makers, who produced from it articles of furniture of 
the highest degree of beauty ; but trees of the red bay are now no longer to 
be found in North America of sufficient diameter for this purpose, and re- 
course is had to mahogany, which is imported from St. Domingo at a moderate 
price. It might also be employed in ship-building, and for other purposes of 
construction, as it unites the properties of strength and durability ; but its 
trunks are rarely found of sufficient dimensions to render it available for 
these purposes. In England it is solely considered as an ornamental tree ; 
and as it is more tender than the common sweet bay, it is only suitable for 
warm or sheltered situations, or for being placed against a wall. 
# 3. L. Catespi4‘NA Michx. Catesby’s Laurel, or Red Bay. 
Identification. Michx, Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 244. : Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 265. ; Pursh Fl. Amer., Sept, 1., 
5 
. 215. 
Engraving. Catesb. Car., t. 28. 
Spec. Char., &c. Evergreen. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, glossy. Flowers in a terminal panicle, Fruit 
ovate. (Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 265.) An evergreen shrub, a native of the sea-coast of Georgia and Ca- 
rolina, introduced in 1820, and flowering in May. ‘The flowers are white, and the berries black, 
based by red calyxes, on thick red peduncles. We have not seen the plant. 
# 4. L. accreca‘ta Sims. The grouped-flowered Laurel, or Bay. 
Tdentification. Sims Bot. Mag., t. 2497. 
Engravings. Bot, Mag., t. 2497.; and our fig. 1170. 
Spec. Char., §c. Evergreen. Leaves ovate-acuminate, 3-nerved, glaucous beneath. Flowers 
upon distinct pedicels, disposed in axillary groups, that are attended at the base with scaly, 
ovate, concave bracteas. (Sims in Bot. Mag., t. 2497.) An evergreen shrub, a native of China, 
