78 SYLVA FLORIFERA. 



of them in the Parisian gardens, that we have 

 not yet seen in our shrubberies. 



We have turned over many ancient medi- 

 cal works without being able to meet with the 

 virtues of this plant, excepting that Amatus 

 Lusitanus informs us that there was formerly 

 a water distilled from its leaves and flowers, 

 "that is a sacred preservative and antidote 

 against the plague and poisons." Galen, 

 Dioscorides, Pliny, and several later writers, 

 caution us not to eat too freely of the fruit; 

 and however disposed we may be to neglect 

 the first recommendation, we may safely an- 

 swer for our attention to the second, leaving 

 them as of old for the bird-catchers, to entice 

 their prey in the winter season. 



The leaves may be usefully employed by 

 tanners in preparing their leather. 



