1280 



ARBORETUM AND FKUTICETUSI. 



I'Air:' in- 



arc, also.avaricty with the leaves variegated with trohl colour, 

 an(l a silvers -leaved variety; Init these are often rather 

 weaker, and more dwarf, than the species. 



Tile wild rosemary is a native of the south of France, 

 Spain, Italy, the Levant, liarlniry, &c., on rocks and rocky 

 hills ; and, in some places, it is so abundant, that in spring, 

 when it is in flower, the air is perfumed with its odour to 

 a cDUsiderahle distance. On this account, and also from the 

 j)owerful attraction which it forms to bees, at a season when 

 theie are few other plants in flower, it has long been partially 

 cultivateil by the inhabitants of those countries of which 

 it is a native. In Narbonne and Malion, the rosemary is 

 so abundant, partly from being indigenous, but principally 

 from its being frequently used tliere to form hedges to gar- 

 dens, that it communicates its flavour to the honey, which 

 IS considered the finest in France. The rosemary is men- 

 tioned, in many of the old Continental songs of the trouba- 

 doiu-s, as emblematic of that constancy and devotion to the 

 fair sex, which was one of the characteristics of thedays of 

 chivalry. Gariamls and chaplets were formed of myrtle, 

 laurel, and rosemary, and jiut on the heads of the principal 

 persons in fetes. it was formerly held in high esteem as a 

 comlbrter of the brain, and a strengthener to the memory; 

 and, on the latter account, is considered as the emblem of 

 fidelity in lovers. Formerly, it was worn at weddings, and also at funerals ; 

 and it is still grown for that purpose in many parts of the Continent. iNlaiiy 

 allusions have been made to both customs by poets, and also to its being 

 the symbol of remembrance. Shakspeare makes Oji'.iclia say, " There's 

 rosemary for you: that's for remembrance;" and in the notes to Stevens's 

 edition of Shakspeare arc many references to passages referring to this 

 plant in the works of tiie old |)oets. It is said to be found wild in the Great 

 Desert; and Moore, in allusion to this, and its use for fiinerals, says, — 



Tlio Inimble rosemary, 



Whose sweets so ih.iiiklessly are shed 

 To scent the desert and tlic dead." 



The points of the shoots area most powerful bitter, and they are aromatic; 

 tliev, also, when distilled with water, yield a thin, light, pale, essential oil, at 

 the rate of 8 oz. of oil to 100 lb. of the herb in a green state. The oil of the 

 flowers (which ought alwa\.s to be gathered with their calyxes) is somewhat 

 more volatile than that of the leaves, and is readily extracted with spirits of 

 wine. This oil contains a considerable (|uaiuity of camphor. The oil of 

 rosemary was in great use among the (Greeks ami Romans, and still forms an 

 article of the materia medica. Hungary water (so called from being first useil 

 by the (iueen of Himgary) is made with rosemary, and is considered excellent 

 for keeping the hair in curl. If constantly used, however, the hair will lose 

 its colour, and become wiry. The smell of the plant is friigrant and aromatic ; 

 and the taste pungent and bitter. Its properties are cflcctually extracted by 

 rectified spirit, and partl\ , also, by water. In France, besides its use by the 

 apothecaries and perfiuners, a conserve, a honey, and a liqueur, arc made from 

 it by the confectioners. Though the rosemary is indigenous to the south 

 of France, it will scarcely live through the winter, in the open air, in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris; antl the varieties, except the broad leaved one, are 

 kept there in the conservatory. In some parts of (icrmany, especially in the 

 Catholic ((>untries(at Nuremburg, for example), rosemary is cultivated in 

 quantities, in pots, by the commercial gardeners, for the purpose of selling sprigs 

 of it when thev come into flower, in winter and early in spring, for religious 

 purnoses. (See Enyc. of Gnrd.,ct\\x. 18.jj, § .54-0.) Like almost all the plants 

 of this chapter, it is easily propagated by cuttings, and it also ripens seeds in 

 abiuidance in fine seasons. It is said always to thrive best near the sea ; 



