ofLouiJtana and Vennfylvania, 559 



Hence, in proceeding from the north to the fouth, th« firft 

 alley exhibited trees of about feventy feet in height, the 

 fccond trees of from twenty- five to thirty, and fo on, in the 

 form of an amphitheatre; fo that all thefe trees had the fuu 

 at leaft in part, and the weaker were ftieltered by the ftrongcr, 



" In the moll foiithern alley I obferved a fort of flirub 

 which rofe only to the height of two or three feet, and which 

 M. Siilzer called the wax-tree. Every perfon vifited this 

 alley in preference to the reft, on account of the delicious 

 perfume emitted by the leaves, which they retained a very 

 long time. 



C. Thiebault then fpeaks of the method of extra6ling 

 the wax. This operation is the fame as that defcribed by 

 M. Alexandre. 



** I have fcen," adds he, " one taper of this wax perfume 

 three chambers which compofed M. Sulzer's private apart- 

 ments, not only during the time it was lighted, but even for 

 the red of the evening." 



The myrica cultivated at Berlin was, no doubt, more odo- 

 riferous than that which we poflefs, the wax of which does 

 not emit the fame perfume. 



M. Sulzer intended to make tapers of this wax not 

 bleached, covered with a coating of our fineft wax. The 

 heirs of this academician fold the garden, but the wax-trees 

 ftill remain. They were planted in 1770. 



If it has been found poffible to naturaHze the myrica ceri- 

 Jera. in the north, why (hould we negleil: a vegetable produc- 

 tion fo valuable, which would certainly thrive in our louthern 

 departments, and which requires leis care than bee-hives. 

 The fuccefsful trials which have been made muft excite the 

 2cal of our agricullurids. 



The government has already encouraged this branch of 

 induftry by ordering plantations of the wax-tree. There are 

 nurferies at Orleans and Rambouillet which contain more 

 than 400 (hrubs. Rcfults fo falisfaftory cannot be made 

 too public. Ufeful plants are always propagated flowly ; a 

 barren but piifurefque tree, an agreeable thrub, are foon 

 adopted through fafliion : they ornament the parterres of 

 our modern L'icullu?e>^ and the flower-pots of our Phrynes, 

 while our indefatiijable agriculturids cxhaull themfelves in 

 vain efiorts to enrich our meadows with a new grafs, or Iq 

 fill our granaries with a new nourishing grain. The vulgaV, 

 through preiudice, long rejeded maiz and potatoes, which 

 have been of fo much fervice to our foldiers and to the poor. 

 The oak, which fed our anceftors, is no longer found in our 

 for<fts. Let us, hqwever, hope that our agriculturillu wiH 



at 



