66 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS. 
adapted for truthful delineation in conventional tracery. 
The tree of Jesse is indeed often met with in the reredos 
and east windows of English churches, and usually we 
have no hint of any special symbol or any properly objec- 
tive thought in the work, although, doubtless, there is fair 
excuse for it. 
The white jessamine has been in cultivation im this 
country so long that we have no record of its introduction, 
and know not whence it was obtained. In the books it 1s 
reported to have been introduced from the East Indies in 
the year 1548, but Gerarde, in 1597, speaks of 1t as com- 
monly used for covering arbours; and as to its native 
country, we can scarcely localise it, except in a general 
way, as an Eastern plant. It is perfectly hardy in this 
country, rarely suffermg even in the severest winters, and 
it is particularly well adapted for planting in town gardens, 
as defect of light and the deposition of dust on its leaves 
do not prevent its healthy growth and free flowermg. As 
a wall tree, however, it lacks character, and often looks 
dingy and dejected ; but if fairly well taken care of, the 
natural elegance of the plant is pleasingly displayed, and 
the delicious fragrance of its delicate white flowers abund- 
antly justifies its place in the garden. 
To obtain the evanescent odour of the flowers of this 
plant, a complicated process is required. To merely press 
them or to distil them with water would be useless, the 
essential essence being too subtle for retention by any 
such simple methods of procedure. The Howers are first 
embedded in fat, to which they communicate their odorous 
treasure, which is then separated from the fat, and obtained 
ina more elegant form by means of alcohol. The last part 
of the process 1s comparatively modern, but the first pro- 
