NOVEMBER A^^) DECEMBEK. 189 



country people of Kent call the cottoner, is used 

 for making baskets, and is also a species of 

 vibiunum. Several varieties of the laurustinus 

 are knoAvn in our gardens. The hairy kind has 

 its leaves hairy underneath, and on the margin, 

 and is found in the neighbourhood of Spain and 

 Portugal, and near Nice ; and the shining lau- 

 rustinus has larger and more glossy foliage, and 

 is not in flower imtil spring. It is abundant 

 about Algiers, and blooms freely in the classic 

 soil of Mount Atlas. When the leaves of these 

 plants decay, they should be carefully cleared 

 from the shrub, if it is growing near a house, 

 as in addition to the injurious effect of an atmo- 

 sphere tainted by a decayed vegetation, this 

 withered foliage diffuses a remarkably fetid 

 odour. 



And now, at Christmas time, we may gather 

 from our gardens a flower as beautiful as any 

 which the summer produces. The Christmas 

 rose, {Helleborus niger,) in form like a large 

 white rose, standing among its dark evergreen 

 leaves, is the hardiest of all flowers. It is -wild 

 on high mountains, and its abundant growth iu 

 the isle of Anticyra, as well as its repute in 

 the cure of mental disorder, originated the 

 proverb of the ancients, " Send the lunatic to 

 Anticyra." This species, as well as another, 

 the eastern hellebore, {Helleborus orientalis,) 

 is still in use among medical practitioners, 

 but the powerful effects of these plants render 

 this a remedy requiring great caution. The latter 

 hellebore grows abundantly in the Levant, and 



