DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERING SHRUBS. 403 



A singular fashion j^revailed many years since, to cut 

 and clip Box trees into the shape of beasts, birds and 

 various fantastical forms. "This preposterous taste in 

 gardening was at last reformed by the pure and classic 

 taste of Bacon, who, though no enemy to sculpture, did 

 not ai:)prove of this absurd species of it, at once disfigur- 

 ing art and nature." The Yew and other trees, were also 

 tortured in this strange fanciful way. I noticed in an old 

 garden, a few miles from Boston, a small parterre, which 

 was laid out in the year 1794; the beds were all edged 

 with box, which had, for more than 60 years, been regu- 

 larly trimmed. The edging was about six inches thick, 

 and at least four feet high. The sides were smooth and 

 the top even, without any break in the foliage from the 

 ground to the top. Great attention had been given it by 

 the old lady who was in possession, that it might remain 

 as it was at tlie time of her husband's decease, many 

 years before. The beds of various shapes were small, so 

 that no plants could flourish, and the only thing of inter- 

 est about this strange arrangement was, as a relic of 

 olden time. If Box is used for edging, it should, in all 

 cases, be kept low, by regular trimming every year, and 

 kept down to the height of not more than four or five 

 inches; and when it becomes too thick, should be taken 

 up and re-set. 



CALYCANTHTJS.— Carolina Allspice. 



[Name from the Greek words foi* cup and flower, from the colored cup which 

 contains the stamens and pistils.] 



Calycanthusfloridus. — Carolina Allspice, Sweet-scented 

 Shrub. — This well-known shrub grows from three to five 

 feet high, and bears from June to August a proftision of 

 dark brownish-purple flowers, which have the odor of ripe 



