82 MY SHRUBS 
given a chance, M. tormentosa would grace a sunny wall of the 
West Country. The very latest thing in myrtles is M. nummu- 
larifolia, from the Falkland Islands, concerning which my far- 
famed friend, Herr Reuthe, tells us that the price can be learned 
on application. In my green youth I used to respond to this 
invitation, and rush in where angels fear to tread ; but the result 
has usually been so shocking, that I have long abstained from 
probing these gloomy mysteries. 
Of the fragrant myrtle race are the famous Pimenta, the all- 
spice trees that bear cinnamon, cloves, and pimento in the West 
Indies and tropical America. 
