L I G 



L I G 



smelTnig', large, all fertile. It is a native of 

 Auiitria, &c. flowering from June to August. 



Culture. — 'lliesc plants are increased by sow- 

 ing the seeds either in the places where they are 

 to remain, or in beds of light earth, in the au- 

 tumn or sprint^, but the former is the better 

 method, rakmgthcni lightlvin. When the plants 

 have attained a lew inches gro>vi]i, they should be 

 removed from the beds into other beds, w here the 

 soil is moist, and set out two feet apart each way, 

 and in the autumn those for the iiorder removed 

 into them ; but the above is the belter practice. 

 The plants sown where they are to grow, 

 should be thinned out in the spring, and be kept 

 clean from weed>. 



They may be admitted in large borders for 

 the purpos^e of variety. The first is also used as 

 a medicinal plant. 



LIGUSTltUM, a genus containing a plant of 

 the hardy deciduous and evergreen shrubby 

 kind — Privet. 



It belongs to the class and order Diandria 

 AJonogynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Sfp'n.irice. 



Tl;e characters are : that the calyx is a one- 

 leafed, tubular perianthimn, verv small: mouth 

 four-toothed, erect, obtuse: the corolla one- 

 petalled, funnel-foriT) : tube cylindric, longer 

 than the calyx : border four-parted, spreading : 

 divi.sions ovate : the stamina have two filaments, 

 opposite, simple : anthers upright, almost the 

 lensth of the corolla : the pistiHum is a round- 

 ish germ : style very short : stigma two-cleft, 

 obtuse, thickish : the pericarpium is a globose 

 berry, smooth, one-celled: the seeds four, con- 

 vex on one side, cornered on the other. 



The species cultivated is L, vulgare. Com- 

 mon Privet. 



It is a shrub, usually about six feet in height, 

 branched, the bark of a greenish ash-colour, ir- 

 regularly sprinkled with numerous prominent 

 points : branches opposite, the young ones flexi- 

 ble and purplish : the leaves opposite, on very 

 short petioles, smooth on both sides, perfectly 

 entire, the lower ones at the bottoms of the small 

 branches least : the panicle about two inches in 

 length, close and somewhat pyramidal ; branch- 

 es and pedicels appearing villose when magnifi- 

 ed : the corolla white, but soon changing to a 

 reddish-brown : the flowers are sweet-scented : 

 berry superior, fleshy, subglobular, shining, of 

 so dark a purple as to seem black : it is found 

 wild in most parts of Europe, &c. flowering in 

 July, and the berries ripening in autumn. 



There are several varieties; as with theleaves in 

 threes and enlaigedatthe base, with silver-striped 

 leaves, with gold-striped leaves, v. ith white ber- 

 ries ; and Evergreen or Italian Privet, which 



rises with a stronger stem, the branches les» 

 pliable, and grows more erect ; the bark is ol a 

 lighter colour; the leaves much larger, ending in 

 acute points, of a brighter green, and eontuuie 

 till they are thrust off by the young leaves in the 

 spring: the flowers arc rather laisi'er, and are 

 not often succeeded by' berries in this climate. if 



The ehirf use of the common sort is to form 

 such hedges as are required in dividing gardens 

 for shelter or ornament ; and for this the Itali- 

 an or Evergreen kind is usually preterred : it 

 bears clipping well, is not liable to be disfigu- 

 red by insects, and having only fibrous roots, it 

 robs the ground less than almost any otlier 

 shrub : it is one of the few plants that will 

 thrive in the smoke of large towns, though it 

 seldom produces any flowers in the closer parts 

 after the first year : it also grows well under the 

 dri]) of trees and in shade : the Sphinx Ligustri, 

 or I'rivet Hawk Moth, and Phalcena Syrhigaria, 

 feed on it in the caterpillar state, and Meloe ve- 

 sicatorhis, Canl.liarides or Blister Beetle, is found 

 on it. From the pulp of the berries a rose-co- 

 loured pigment may be prepared : with- which, 

 by the addition of alum, they dye wool and silk 

 of a good durable green: forwhich purpose they 

 nuisi be gathered as soon as they are ripe. 



Culture. — These plants are capable of being 

 increased by seed, layers, suckers, and cuttings; 

 but the first nselhod affords the best plants: 

 the seed should be sown in autunni, in a bed of 

 common earth an inch deep, or in drills the 

 same depth ; but as they do not always grow 

 freely the first year, they may be buried till 

 next autumn, in pots of sandy earth, in the 

 ground, and thet^ sown as above : when the 

 plants come up they should be kept well weed- 

 ed, and, when a year or two old, be planted out 

 in nursery-rows, to remain two or three years, 

 then removed where they are wanted to re- 

 main : the lavers should be laid down, from some 

 of the pliable young branches, in the earth, in 

 autumn or winter, when they will be well root- 

 ed by the autumn following ; then take then) off 

 from the stool, with their ^oots, and plant them 

 in the nursery for a year or two, or till of pro- 

 per size for the purposes thev arc intended for: 

 the suckers which rise annually from the roots 

 should be taken up in autunm, winter, or spring, 

 with roots, and planted in the nursery as above: 

 the cuttings of the young shoots, eight or ten 

 inches long, should be planted in the autumn, 

 in a shady border, where they will be properly 

 rooted by the following autumn, when they may 

 be planted out in nursery rows, to acquire pro- 

 per growth, in the manner directed above. 

 The varieties with striped leaves may be increas- 

 ed by budding, or inarching, upon the plain 



