LAURELS. 147 



regions, in the mountains of Persia, and west of Asia, 

 and is considered one of our finest evergreens. It 

 succeeds at its best in a rich, deep, free soil, in a 

 sheltered situation, as it affects the shade, and forms 

 a highly ornamental underwood. If planted in a wet, 

 hard, or retentive soil, it becomes unsightly, and 

 yields only a scanty crop of leaves, with bare twigs. 

 It can be propagated either by berries, cuttings, or 

 layers. The berries become ripe in Autumn, when 

 they should be cleared from their pulp and imme- 

 diately sown. Cuttings however are the simplest 

 method to resort to for its propagation. These 

 should be planted in September, in sandy soil par- 

 tially shaded, in lengths a foot long, inserted in 

 the ground to half their length. They should be of 

 the same season's growth, with about an inch of the 

 previous year's wood attached to them, from which 

 the roots will spring in the following summer. When 

 the plants become close to one another, they should 

 be transplanted out into nursery lines, wide enough 

 asunder to allow them to become bushy ; after 

 standing thus for a year or two, they will be fit either 

 for the shrubbery, or as underwood in beltings of 

 other trees ; or to be planted out by the borders of 

 drives in the forest, where its berries form a favourite 

 food for pheasants. As a hedge, or ornamental 

 screen-fence, the laurel is very desirable. The prin- 

 cipal varieties are the variegated and the narrow 

 leaved. 



The Portugal Laurel Cherry, or common Portugal 

 laurel, is one of the best evergreens adapted to our 

 climate, for although not growing so fast as the 

 common laurel, it is more hardy, and succeeds on soils 



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