THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 439 



honey; elsewhere, sombre corollas hke those of the crown- 

 imperial, and some azaleas, exude only venomous juices. 

 Woe to the insect that feeds thereon, for they yield only 

 deadly products. Our readers will recollect the accident 

 which overtook the army of Xenophon near Trebizond, in 

 the famous retreat of the ten thousand Greeks. His 

 soldiers having seized eagerly upon some honey which 

 they found near the sea, all fell to the ground a few 

 moments afterwards, dangerously poisoned. Tournefort 

 rightly ascribes this accident to the bees of the country 

 having imbibed the juices contained in the calices of the 

 Azalea j)ontiea, which he observed to be poisonous. 



The hand of Providence draAvs freely from the vege- 

 table kingdom to satisfy our pleasures and our wants. 



The petals of the rose, the jasmine, and the tuberose 

 are steeped in precious essences which perfume the air all 

 round them, and of which art bereaves them in large 

 quantities for the refinements of luxury. ^ 



Other plants of more modest appearance, such as mint, 

 rosemary, balm, and lavender, are better provided in this 

 respect, for their odoriferous oils exhale from all their 

 tissues, and they pour them forth even more freely than 

 the others. The species which contain them sometimes 

 betray themselves by perfuming the air to a great dis- 



1 The tissues of the plants of India, Mexico, and Peru are impregnated with 

 precious aromatics, but it is from the south of Europe tliat commerce draws the 

 principal part of the perfumes which we enjoy. The mild temperature of 

 Provence is wonderfully suited to the culture of the sweet-smelling plants of all 

 countries, and hence this province is familiarly styled the garden of Europe. 



This kind of cultivation is carried on chiefly in the environs of Grasse, Nice, 

 and Cannes. 



The consumption of flowers in the establishment of M. Hermann alone, one 



of the principal perfumers of Cannes, will give an idea of the importance of this 



branch of commerce. He uses yearly 70,000 kilogrammes (above 153,000 lbs. 



avoirdupois) of orange flowers; 6000 kilogrammes (13,242 lbs. avoirdupois) of 



black-cun-ant flowers; 70,000 kilogrammes (more than 153,000 lbs. avoirdupois) 



63 



