The Laurels 



berries, much beloved by the birds, who will quickly strip 

 a tree of them. The Portugal Laurel has no glands 

 on the back of the leaves, and the shrub does not carry 

 the aromatic oils that we find in the Common Laurel. 



Though the Common Laurel is hardy, the Portugal 

 Laurel is still better adapted to bear cold, and has been 

 known to face 32 degrees of frost with equanimity. This 

 is all the more remarkable when we recollect that the 

 shrub came to us from Portugal, or perhaps from 

 Madeira, via Portugal. It made its first appearance 

 here in 1648, some twenty years later than the 

 Common Laurel. Of this, too, there are now several 

 varieties grown in our gardens, viz. rather tender 

 azorica, with the leaves longer than any other variety ; 

 myrtifolia, with quite small leaves; and "variegated," 

 with leaves outlined in white. 



Soil and Cultivation. Both of these Laurels do 

 best in a warm, loose loam, but they will flourish 

 in quite poor soil and stand the shade better than most 

 shrubs. They are easily propagated by cuttings of the 

 ripened wood, the procedure being to take a piece 

 about eight inches in length and plant almost the whole 

 of it in the ground. It will always strike root and 

 become a serviceable plant in a twelvemonth. The 

 Portugal Laurel is often grown from seed. 



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