192 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



(Laurus nohilis.) In former days its branches 

 enwreathed the head of the priestess of Delphi, 

 and were hung about the gates of the Roman 

 emperoi's. The victorious general, too, who 

 had carried the proud eagle to the conquest, 

 was congratulated by letters wrapped in the 

 fragrant bay leaves ; and the soldiers who fought 

 under him, entered the imperial city, carrying 

 triumphantly the branches of the bay tree. It 

 is a native of Italy, and of the soutliern parts of 

 Asia. The perfume of its bruised leaf is very 

 pleasant, and was once supposed effectual in 

 relieving the symptoms of many diseases. 



The handsome evergreen thorn, (Crattegits 

 pyracantha,) with its profusion of scarlet berries, 

 vies with the mountain ash in winter splendour, 

 and its dark foliage brightens in the sun. It 

 is a native of North America. Some of the 

 garden species of broom, too, retain their ver- 

 dure, and the rhododendrons are still green ; 

 and the hardy alaternus (Rhamnus alatermvs) 

 glows with as bright a tint, and looks as fresh, 

 even in the middle of the smoky city, as if it 

 were flourishing under the clearest sky. 



And thus amid all the changes of nature, 

 God has given to earth, to its wikl Avoods, and 

 its sheltered gardens, a voice to praise him. 

 " For who knoweth not in all these that the 

 hand of the Lord hath wrought this ?" Job xii. 9. 



THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: IKSTITUTED 1799. 



