290 SYLVA BOOK ii 



and gousset (as the French term it) to which divers 

 of the female sex are subject : The berries mitigate 

 the inflammations of the eyes, consolidate broken- 

 bones ; and a decoction of the juice, leaves, and 

 berries, dyes the hair black, & enecant ^itiligenes, as 

 Dioscorides says, 1. i. c. 128. And there is an ex- 

 cellent sweet water extracted from the distill'd leaves 

 and flowers : To which the naturalist adds, that they 

 us'd the berries instead of pepper, to stuff and farce 

 with them. Hence the mortadella a mortatula^ still 

 so call'd by the Italians, perhaps the /uv/orf&c of Athen- 

 asus, delp. 1. 2. c. 12. The vinum myrtites so cele- 

 brated by the * ancients, and so the oyl ; And in some 

 places the leaves for tanning of leather : and trees 

 have grown to such substance, as of the very wood 

 curious cups and boxes have been turn'd. 



The variety of this rare shrub, now furnishing the 

 gardens and portico's (as long as the season and 

 weather suits) and even in the severest Winters in 

 the conclave, are cut and contriv'd into various 

 figures, and of divers variegations, most likely to be 

 produc'd by the seeds, as our learned Mr. Ray 

 believes, rather than by layers, suckers, or slips, or 

 from any difference of species : In the mean time, 

 let gardeners make such trials, whilst those most 

 worth the culture, are the small and broad-leav'd, the 

 Tarentine, the Belgick, latifolia, and double-flower'd, 

 and several more among the curious ; and of old, 

 sacred to Venus, so call'd from a virgin belov'd of 

 Minerva, the garlands of the leaves and blossoms, 

 impaling the brows of incruentous, and unbloody 

 victors and ovations. 



And now if here for the name only, I mention the 



1 Cato, Columella, Paladius. 



