j2o BOX TREE. 



which they are set on the twig, the leaves generally overlap one 

 another. The shoot itself is dull green, and the projecting ribs 

 which run down it, starting from either side of every leaf, make it 

 appear four-sided. 



FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 



In October the flower-buds are to be found pressed together 

 into a compact little green ball, about one eighth of an inch in 

 diameter, in the axil of the leaf-stalk and the shoot. The flower- 

 buds open in January, or during the four following months. Every 

 cluster of florets usually consists of a female flower surrounded by a 

 number of male flowers. The flowers are a pale greenish-yellow, 

 and inconspicuous until the sulphur-coloured pollen is produced. 

 The male flowers have four petals and four stamens : the female 

 flowers often bear many sepals, surrounding a three-styled ovary. 

 The fruit grows to the size of a large pea. The colour, at first 

 a pale blueish-green, changes later to brown, when the fruit-covering 

 becomes brittle. 



THE BOX. (Buxus Sempervirens). 



The Box grows slowly and lives to a great age. Its pale- 

 yellow wood is heavier than that of any other British tree, and of 

 an exceedingly fine grain. Hence it was used extensively for blocks 

 for wood-engraving. Writers in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 

 mention the Box as growing in England, but botanists disagree as 

 to its being a native tree. The Rev. C. A. Johns says that it 

 was an old custom in the north of England for the mourners to 

 throw a spray of Box on a coffin before the grave was filled in. 



