126 MYRTLE AND LAVENDER. 



which was sacred to Aphrodite, and oni^• in a lew 

 districts, as in LTpper Bavaria, has it been able to hold 

 its own until toda^^ On the other hand, curioush' enough, 

 the Myrtle has had to give wa}' to Orange-blossom in 

 Itah-, for W. Horstel, the esteemed writer on the 

 Riviera in the "Land und Leute" series, tells us that 

 no Italian bride would wear M\-rtle; it is used there 

 as stable litter. 



.Vlthough it is not in blossom ih the spring we at 

 once recognise in the Maquis the Myrtle by its shin)', 

 leathery, lanceolate and opposite leaves. A few of these 

 bushes still bear their blueish-black berries which had 

 ripened in the Autumn. \Mien bruised between the fingers 

 the leaves einil a spic^• pertume. Because the A[\rtle 

 was an emblem of beauty and }-oiith it was thought 

 that the "Eau dWnges" which was distilled from its 

 leaves must possess some hidden powers. This water 

 was much used in France to restore faded beaut^^ 



Wherever the Mae[uis approaches the shore TliA'me 

 is found in abundance. It carpets the ground and adorns 

 it with countless, small and modest pink blossoms. An- 

 other and taller Labiate, Lavandula Stoechas (Fig. p. 257), 

 is much branched and its violet flower spikes rise above 

 the small, softly-felted leaves. What we chiefly notice 

 about it, however, is not the flowers but the tuft of brilli- 

 antly coloured bracts at the end of the flower spike. It 

 is these that attract the pollen-carrying insects, for the 

 flowers, which are ranged in vertical rows on the angles 

 of the spike, are only small and insignificant. Thev are 

 of such a dark violet as to appear almost black. 



