§1 "January and February ^ 



(syn odora). The flowers are larger than those of D. 

 mezereum ; it is even more fragrant, and it is also in leaf 

 in January. But this variety, which one often sees in 

 Devon and Cornwall, can only be grown out of doors 

 against a very warm, sheltered wall. D. laureola and 

 D. pontica produce their yellow-green flowers in February 

 and March. For the few there are D. Jioniana and 

 D. retusa, but even in skilful hands the former usually 

 looks a rather unhappy little object ! 



D. mezereum and D. laureola are supposed to be in- 

 digenous in England. A paragraph in Philip Miller's 

 Gardener's and Botanist's Dictionary (i 807), on the subject 

 of D. mezereum, is so interesting — especially the reference 

 to ' Mr. White in Selborne-hanger, Hants ' — that I 

 quote it : 



* Native of Lapland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, 

 Switzerland, France, Carniola, Savoy, Piedmont, Great 

 Britain. Mr. Miller is the first who mentions that it is a 

 native of our island, namely, near Andover, in Hampshire. 

 Since that it has been found by Mr. Woodward at Lax- 

 field, in Suffolk ; by Mr. White in Selborne-hanger, 

 Hants ; and it has been frequently observed in the beech 

 woods of Buckinghamshire. As it has escaped all our old 

 herbarists and even the indefatigable Ray and his im- 

 mediate successors, and birds are remarkably fond of the 

 berries ; I should suspect that they may have disseminated 

 this beautiful shrub ; unless we may suppose that it 

 remained unnoticed on account of the early flowering, 

 before herbarists sallied forth on their vernal excursions. 

 Gerard says that he had plenty thereof for his garden from 

 Elbing, in Poland. He calls it Germaine Olive Spurge, or 

 Spurge Olive, Spurge Flax and Dwarf Bay, and says that 



*9 



