EL JF. 



ELD 



They require tbc protection of a moderate stove 

 durinn the autumn and wiuti-r, but when they 

 have had some gro\\lh, they nia\ be s..t oi:l in 

 Uic sunmier in the open air in hot weatlicr. 



'1 hcv have a fine eflect ni their exuberant fo!i- 

 ai;e among other stove plants, all the species at- 

 turding much variety. 



EL^ AGNUS, a genus containing plants of 

 the shrubby deciduous kind. 



It belongs to the clais and order Telrundria 

 Munogi/nia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 E/aagni. 



The characters are: that the caly."C is a 

 one-leafed, four-cleft perianthium, superior, 

 straight, bell-form, outwardly scabrous, inward- 

 ly coloured, deciduous : there is no coiolla : the 

 stamina consist of four filaments, verj- short, 

 inserted into the calyx below the divisions: an- 

 thers oblong, incumbent: the pistillum is a 

 roundish, inferior germ : style smiple, a httle 

 shorter than the calyx : stigma simple : the peri- 

 carpium an Oifate, obtuse drupe, sinooth, w ilh 

 a dalted tip: the seed an oblong obtuse nut. 



The species cultivated are : 1 . E. angustifoiia, 

 Narrow-leaved Oleaster, or Wild Olive; 2. E. 

 onV/(7a/(j-,Oricntal01easter, or Wild Olive; 3. E. 

 Latif'oiia, Broad-leaved Oleaster, or Wild Olive. 



The first is a tree branching from the bottom, 

 growing sometimes to the height of three fa- 

 thoms, with a trunk the thickness of a man's 

 arm or thigh, elegant in its appearance, especially 

 from the silvery brightness of the leaves : the 

 hark is smooth, brown : wood pale, prettily 

 vi-ined with gray and brown, but not hard : the 

 branches and branchlets slender, frequent, alter- 

 nate, smooth, unarmed, or having thorns, espe- 

 cially in young trees: the leaves are petioled, in 

 the more northern parts lanceolate, in the more 

 southern broader, rather obtufc, and larger; silvery 

 white underneath, on their upper surface hoary- 

 greenish, and shining very much : the fi<nvers 

 come out at the middle leaves of the smaller 

 branches, usually solitary or two together, some- 

 tin)es, but very seldom, three from each axil, in 

 which case one or two are on shorter peduncles 

 and barren, succeeded by a solitary drupe, cb- 

 long, hoary-white when young, thicker and yel- 

 lowish when ripe, inclosms within a sweet pulp 

 a woody, gray, furrowed nut. It is a native of 

 the South of Europe, &c. 



Miller particularly distinguishes it from the 

 thorny and unarmed narrow-leaved Oleaster : 

 the latter he considers as that which is most 

 commonly preserved in our gardens : the leaves 

 in this are not more than two inches long, and 

 about three quarters of an inch broad in the mid- 

 dle ; are white, and have a soft cottony down on 

 their surface; and at the footstalk of every leaf 

 comes out a pretty long sharp thorn : the leaves 



being alternate, l!>£ spines come out on each side 

 of tin- brunches : the llowers arc small, ami have 

 a strong scent when fully open. 



The second species, in the stature and manner 

 of growth, is a tree that resembles a middle- 

 sized willow, as also in the hoariness of iu 

 leaves and thedivision of its branches : the bark is 

 uray, and clo\t.-n in the trunk: the small 

 Branches alternate, all white-tomentose : the 

 leaves are alternate, oblong-ovate, and oval, 

 quite entire, petioled, with a snowy hoarinesa 

 underneath, and dolted-hoary on the upper 

 surface, not shininer, but soft. The wild sorts 

 have sharp straight thorns scattered variously 

 over the brandies, which on the smaller twigs 

 are hoarv all over, and bear leaves : but the 

 cultivated trees have no thorns : the fluwers 

 are alternate, pedunclcd, solitary, and extreme- 

 ly fragrant : the fruit ovate, very obscurelv' 

 octangular, tomentose ; the nut furrowed, hav- 

 ing a cylindric kernel : it has much the ap- 

 pearance of the first, but is a native of Ftrsia. 



The third has a tuberous root, and nscs with 

 a woody stem to the height of eight or nine feet, 

 dividing inio many branches : the leaves are 

 silvery, with several irregular dark-coloured 

 spots ; are alternate, and continue all the year: 

 the flowers are lateral, while, on one-flowered 

 peduncles, several together : the fruit small ovate, 

 containing one seed. Native of the East ]ndie.«« 



Miller remarks, that it is rare at present in 

 our eardens. 



Culture. — These plants may be increased 

 either by seeds, lavers, or cuttings ; but the lat- 

 ter is the readiest and most common method. 



The seed, when it can be procured, may 

 be sown in pots of light earth in the spring, 

 plunging them in the hot-bed; and, when the 

 plants are. of some growth, removing them 

 into other pots or situations, where they mav 

 remain a year or two. 



The layers and cutting's of the voung shoots 

 should be laid down or planted out in tlic 

 autinnn or early spring, those made from tlie 

 tinder sorts being put in pois, and placed in the 

 bot-bedofthe sto\e. When they are become 

 well rooted, they may be removed, the haidv 

 sorts into the nursery to have a few years 

 growth, and those of the tender kinds into 

 separaie pots, to have the protection of the 

 green-house and stove. 



These arc all ornamental plants, the first 

 Sort being well adapted to afford variety in 

 the clumps and borders of shrubberies, the 

 second to the green-house, and the last to the 

 stove. As the plants in the first sorts do not 

 continue long, new ones should be raised every 

 two or three vears. 



ELDEU. 'See S.iMBtcus. 



