'M)0 



ArUJOUliTL'.M AND l-FarilCETUM. 



PART 111. 



1169 



to -^((iii. in diameter, yet rarely exhi- 

 bits a regular form : its trunk is gene- 

 rally erooked, and divided into several 

 thick limbs at K ft., 10 ft., or I? ft. from 

 theqround. In .America, Michaux tells 

 us, " upon old trunks the i)ark is thick, 

 and dee|)ly furrowed ; that of the young 

 branches, on the contrary, is smooth, 

 and of a beautiful green colour. The 

 leaves are about (J in. long, alternate, 

 oval-acuminate, glaucous on the lower 

 siu'face, and evergreen. When bruised 

 they diffuse a strong odour, resembling 

 that of the sweet bay CLaiirus nobilis), 

 and may, like those of that species, be employed in cookery." (J//c-//x. North 

 Anicr. Sijl.^ 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 [)C(lunclcs. The berries are of a dark rich blue, in red cups, and tliey 

 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, (leorgia, the two Floridas, and Lower Louisiana. 

 Mixed with the sweet bay (Z/aurus nobilis), tupelo (Nyss« biflora), red 

 maple (y/Y-cr ri'ibrum), and water oak (Quercus 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 

 C'atesby, and described and figureil 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 Borbonw 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 Catcsby tells us, of watered satin. Before mahogany 

 became the reigning fashion in cabinet-making, Michaux observes, the wood 

 of the red bay was connnonly employeil in the southern states of North 

 America bv 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 em[)loyed 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 ; 

 anil as it is more tender than the conunon sweet bay, it is only suitable for 

 warm or sheltered situations, or for being placed against a wall. 



• 3. L. CxT^sniA'NA Michx. Catcsby 's Laurel, or Red Bay. 



hlcuti/icalion. Michx. Fl. BorAmcr., 1. p. 2U. : Sprciig. Syst., 2. p. 2G5. ; Pursh IH. Aiiier., Sept. 1., 

 p. 275. 



Engraving. Catesb. Car., t. 28. 



Siu-c. Char., SfC. Evergreen. Ixavcs ovato-Ianccolatc, glossy. Flowers in a terminal panicle. Fruit 



' ovate [s'ltrciig. Syst., 2. p. £(;5.) .An evergreen shrub, a native of the sc.i-coast of (Jeorgia ami Ca- 

 rolina, introduced in 182(), and flowering in .May. The flowers are white, and the berries black, 

 bated by red calyxes, on thick re<l peduncles. \Vc have not seen the plant. 



• 4. L. aggrega'ta Sims. The groupcd-^otvcrcd Laurel, or Bay. 



Mnlijiratinr. Sims Rot. Map., t. 2497. 



Krifiravings. Bot, Mag., t. 2497. ; and our y?^'. 1170. 



.Sii.T. CAflr, Str. Kvergreen. Le.ives ov.-itc.acn:ninale, .3-nerved, glaurous l)rm.'.ilh, Flowcri 

 upon distinct |iedicels, dispo.sid in axillarv groups, thai are attended at the base with scaly, 

 ovate, concave bractcas. {Sims in Hot. Mag., t. 24fl7.) An evergreen thriib, a native ol Chnia. 



