4 REMARKS ON THE JASMINE. 



of turnips. As long back as the time of Charles the Second, 

 Evelyn says, " Were it as much employed for nosegays, &c. with 

 us, as in Italy and France, they might make money enough of 

 the flowers ; one sorry tree in Paris, where they abound, has been 

 worth to a poor woman near a pistole a year." And at the pre- 

 sent time a great deal of money is made by the nurserymen in 

 that neighbourhood, who trim them up with a head on a single 

 stem, and then pot them, and send them to the flower market co- 

 vered with blossoms, whereby they soon find customers amongst 

 those who are wise enough to prefer 'familiar beauty to costly rarity, 

 and you see it there flourishing equally in the cobler's window 

 and the palace balcony. The Turks cultivate the jasmine for the 

 sake of the branches, of which the tubes of their summer tobacco- 

 pipes are as invariably made, as those for the winter are formed 

 of the cherry-tree. 



As the jasmine does not ripen its seed in our climate, it is in- 

 creased by laying down the branches, which take root in one year, 

 which may then be cut from the old stock, and planted where 

 they are to remain. It is also propagated by cuttings, which should 

 be planted early in the autumn, and the earth covered with sand, 

 ashes, or saw dust, to keep the frost from entering the ground.. 



In situations where it is necessary to prune this plant, it must 

 never be done until the end of March, or when the frost is past. 

 It should also be observed, that the flowers are always produced 

 at the extremity of the same years' shoots, which are often cut 

 off in the summer, by those that are ignorant of its nature ; and 

 thus the plant is deprived of the power of treating us with its 

 fragrant flowers. 



The common yellow jasmine, J. fruticans, is a native of the 

 south of Europe, yet it did not reach this country so early as 

 the white jasmine, as Gerard tells in 1597, that it had not been 

 seen in this country ; and Mr. Martin is therefore mistaken in his 

 statement, that it was cultivated by Gerard in that year. 



Parkinson tells us, in 1629, that the yellow jasmine, " will well 

 abide in our London gardens, and anywhere else." 



This shrub is easily increased by suckers or layers, but being 

 deficient of odour, it is much less cultivated than formerly. 

 Sheep eat the leaves and young branches of this shrub with great 

 avidity. 



The Italian yellow jasmine, J. humile, produces larger flowers 

 than the common yellow jasmine, and is therefore preferred in 



