MYR 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



MYR 



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28. Myrtus Spjendens. Peduncles axillary, solitary, tri- 

 chotomous ; leaves elliptic, acuminate, flat, veined, scariose, 

 ihining; brant-tres rod-like. Native of Hispaniola. 



29. Myrtus Zeylanica; Ceylon Myrtle. Racemes axil- 

 lary and terminating ; pedicels commonly four-flowered ; 

 leaves ovate, attenuated, dotted above. This has a strong 

 upright stalk, covered with a smooth grey bark, dividing to- 

 wards the top into many tender stiff branches. The flowers 

 come out at the ends of the branches, several on one common 

 peduncle, which branches out, and each flower stands on a 

 very slender pedicel : they are very like the flowers of the 

 Italian Myrtle. Native of Ceylon. This plant is scarce, be- 

 cause it is difficult to propagate ; for as it does not produce 

 ripe seeds in Europe, it can only be produced by layers or 

 cuttings. By the former method, the layers are commonly 

 two years before they take root, and the cuttings frequently 

 fail, though the latter is preferred when performed at a proper 

 season and in a right method. The best time to plant the 

 cuttings is in May : in the choice of them it should be the 

 shoots of the former year, with a small piece of the two years' 

 wood at bottom : these should be planted in small pots filled 

 with soft loamy earth, for jsmail pots are to be preferred be- 

 fore large ones for this purpose, and they should be plunged 

 into a very moderate hot-bed of tanner's bark ; and if the 

 pots are each covered with small bell or hand glasses, such 

 as have been used for blowing Carnations, to exclude the 

 air, it will be of great service to promote the cuttings putting 

 out roots, though they are covered with the glasses of the 

 hot-bed above them ; the cuttings should be shaded from the 

 sun in the heat of the day, and gently refreshed with water 

 as the earth in the pots dries, but they should by no means 

 have too much wet : those cuttings which succeed will -have 

 taken root by July, when they should be gradually inured to 

 bear the open air, into which it will be proper to remove them 

 about the middle of that month, that they may be strength- 

 ened before winter ; but it will not be proper to transpjant 

 the cuttings till spring ; the pots must be removed into a 

 temperate stove in autumn, and during the winter the 

 cuttings must be gently refreshed with water. In the spring 

 they should be carefully taken up, and each planted in a 

 small pot filled with light earth from a kitchen-garden, and 

 plunged into a moderate hot-bed, to forward their taking 

 fresh root ; then they should be gradually hardened, and in 

 July placed in the open air in a sheltered situation, where 

 they may remain till the end of September, and then be re- 

 moved into the stove. This plant will not endure an English 

 winter in a green-house, but if it is placed in a moderate de- 

 gree of warmth, it will flower well in winter; and in July, 

 August, and September, the plants should be placed abroad 

 in a sheltered situation. The other tender Myrtles from the 

 East and West Indies maybe treated in the same manner. 



30. Myrtus Androsaemoides. Racemes axillary and ter- 

 Kiinating, subcompound ; pedicels three-flowered ; leaves 

 ovate, oblong, sessile. The whole plant is smooth ; branches 

 obscurely four-cornered at top. Native of Ceylon. 



31. Myrtus Caryophyllata. Peduncles trichotomous, ter- 

 minating ; calices undivided ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, un- 

 dotted. Native of Ceylon and other parts of the East 

 Indies, but not of America. 



32. Myrtus Acris. Peduncles axillary and terminating, 

 corymbed, trichotomous, longer than the leaves; leaves 

 elliptic, convex, coriaceous, veined, dotted. Stem arboreous; 

 trunk handsome, straight, forming a very thick beautiful 

 pyramidal head ; bark in the younger trees brown, then ash- 

 coloured, finally white entirely, or with large yellow spots ; 

 it is very smooth and even, especially in old trees, but here 



79. 



and there hangs down in slender shreds. The flowers are 

 small and white, with a slight tinge of redness ; berries 

 round, the size of peas, crowned with the remains of the 

 calix, having an aromatic smell and taste, which renders 

 them agreeable for culinary purposes ; they contain about 

 seven or eight seeds. The timber of this very elegant tree 

 is extremely hard, red, compact, ponderous, and capable of 

 being polished ; and is used for cogs in the sugar mills and 

 other works where considerable friction is required. Browne 

 says it is common in Antigua and Jamaica as well as Bar- 

 badoes, and grows generally to a considerable size ; that it 

 fills the woods with the flagrant smell of its leaves, which on 

 account of their agreeable astringency are used for sauce 

 with food, and nearly resemble those of cinnamon. The 

 bark however has no warmth of that sort, though the berries 

 resemble cloves very much, both in form and flavour. It is 

 commonly called Wild Cinnamon, or Wild Clove Tree, in 

 Antigua and Jamaica. See the twenty-ninth species. 



33. Myrtus Coriacea ; Sumach-leaved Myrtle. Peduncle* 

 trichotomous, terminating ; leaves roundish-elliptic, convex, 

 coriaceous, veinless, doted, shining on both sides. The 

 whole of this plant is smooth ; flowers pedicelled ; fruit glo- 

 bular. Native of the West Indies. 



34. Myrtus Fragrans ; Fragrant Myrtle. Peduncles ax- 

 illary, trichotomous, and simple ; leaves ovate, slightly con- 

 vex, somewhat coriaceous, dotted, smooth. Stem arboreous ; 

 branches subdichotomous, smooth, purplish at the end. 

 Native of Jamaica and Guiana. 



35. Myrtus Chinensis; Chinese Myrtle. Peduncles many- 

 flowered ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, serrate, hairy. This is an 

 upright shrub, a foot and half high, with few ascending 

 branches. Native of China near Canton. 



36. Myrtus Pimenta ; Pimento, Jamaica Pepper, or All- 

 spice. Flowers trichotomous-panicled ; leaves oblong, lan- 

 ceolate. This tree attains to more than thirty feet high, 

 with a straight trunk covered with a smooth brown bark, 

 dividing upwards into many branches, which come out op- 

 posite, garnished with oblong leaves, resembling those of 

 the Bay Tree in form, colour, and texture, but longer, and 

 placed by pairs : when these are bruised or broken, they 

 have a very fine aromatic odour, like that of the fruit. The 

 branches grow very regular, so that the trees make a very 

 fine appearance, and, as they retain their leaves through the 

 year, are worth propagation for ornament and shade. This 

 tree begins to bear fruit in three years after it is planted, 

 but does not arrive at maturity under seven ; but then abun- 

 dantly repays the patience of the planter, yielding one thou- 

 sand pounds' weight of fruit from an acre. They are gene- 

 rally gathered in July in their green state, by twisting off the 

 twigs with the hand or a pole cleft at one end, and are laid 

 on cloths, spread over the barbacues or terraced floors raised 

 a little above the ground, inclosed with an upright ledge of 

 eight or ten inches in height, and divided by transverse par- 

 titions into four or more square compartments, that each may 

 contain a day's picking. During the first and second day 

 they are turned often, that the whole may be more exposed 

 to the sun ; but when they begin to dry, they are frequently 

 winnowed,' and laid in cloths to preserve them better from 

 rain and dews, still exposing them to the sun every day, and 

 removing them under cover every evening, till they have 

 sufficiently dried ; which usually is in ten or twelve days 

 and is known by the darkness of their complexion and the 

 rattling of the seeds ; they appear at this time wrinkled, and 

 changed to a very dark brown. In this state being ready 

 for the market, they are stowed in bags or casks. Some 

 planters kiln-dry them with great success. Such of the 



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