146 TREE-PLANTING. 



indigenous to France, and the south of Germany ; its 

 wood being brown and hard emits a pleasant 

 fragrance, the kernels of the fruit being employed by 

 perfumers to scent soap. It is a very hardy plant, and 

 will grow either in a bleak exposure, or as an under- 

 wood in any soil, however poor, if it be only dry. 



The Laurel. No tree perhaps is so generally 

 useful for ornamental planting as the different varieties 

 of the laurel. The Lauren* nobilis, the noble laurel, 

 or sweet bay, is the type of the Natural order Lauracece, 

 that embraces hardy evergreens, which attain the 

 stature of small trees in their native countries, as well 

 as a few kinds of hardy deciduous trees, amongst 

 which the sassafras of North America is conspicuous, 

 on account of its medicinal properties. 



The Sweet Bay is a native of the south of Europe 

 and north of Africa, and is a beautiful evergreen with 

 handsome leaves of a firm texture, remarkable for 

 their aromatic taste and agreeable fragrance. 



To succeed and flourish vigorously, it must have 

 an open well-drained soil, to enable its young wood to 

 stand the severity of frost. It produces numerous 

 suckers from the roots, and can be easily propagated, 

 either by dividing the roots or from layers. The 

 cook finds the leaves of the sweet bay useful for 

 flavouring custards or blancmanges, and for placing 

 in the dish with soused mackerel, etc. 



The Portugal Laurel, one of our most beautiful 

 evergreens, does not belong to this order, which is 

 often commonly supposed to be the case, but to that 

 of Cerasus, or cherry. 



The Laurel Cherry. Cerasus, Lauro-cerasus, or 

 common laurel, grows wild in woody and subalpine 



