LIGUSTRUM. 



like. Leaves oppofite, nearly fefTiIe, dark green, fmooth, 

 lanceolate, (now and tiicn elliptical,) eiitiri-, poin:ed, not 

 acuminated, generally remaining through the winter. Pa- 

 nicles terminal, denfe. Flowers white, fm. Hint: difagrceal)ly. 

 Berries &AtV. purple, or blacki(h, very bitter, like the toliajjc 

 and bark. 



Privet is remarkable for thriving amidfl the fmoky atmo. 

 fphcrc of towns, being frequently planted for hedges in gar- 

 dens, for whieli purpofe it is particularly eligible, fince Jts 

 foliage fomewhat rcfembles that of the myrtle, and in mild 

 winters is almoll evergreen. It was formerly known by the 

 name of Print, or Prim-print, moil probably from its neat 

 and regular appearance wlien clipped and trimmed. The 

 beil mode of proj)agating this plant is by feed. It is ea'.en 

 by the Sphinx Liguftri, in its caterpillar (late, one of our 

 -finelt native infcifis. Curtis fays that the berries are recom- 

 mended in dyeing, colouriir.- of wines, and as affording a 

 purple colour to iiai'i prints, though at the fame time he re- 

 marks there are much better materials in common ufe for the 

 fame purpofcs. — This fpecics is fiibjeft to variation with re- 

 fpe<A to its leaves, which are fometimcs variegated, and 

 growing three at each joint. Tlie berries have alio been 

 found white, or rather yellow. We ought not to omit 

 mentioning that this fruit is one of the vejretable fubllances 

 which has been fufpefted to form a princitial ingredient in 

 the prefent popular gout medicine, the ran mediciiinlf d' Hiiffon. 



2. L. japonicum. Broad-leaved Privet. Willd. n. 2. 

 Thunb. Japon. 17. t. I. — Leaves ovate, acuminate. Pani- 

 cle divaricated.— A native of .lapan, as its fpccific name 

 teftilies ; where it flowers in June and July, and ripens its 

 fruit late in the autumn — Stem eight or nine feet high, very 

 much branched. Branches oppolite, roundidi, rugofe, ath- 

 coloured, ereft, rather fpreading. Leaves oppofite, on foot- 

 ftalks, entire, with a deep furrow in their centre, green 

 above, pale underneath, fmooth, an inch broad, an inch and 

 half long. FootfiMs round, furrowed on the upper lide. 

 Floivers in terminal fpreading panicles. Berry ovate, fmooth, 

 the fize of a pea. 



3. L. lucidum. Chinefe Privet. Wax-'.ree Ait. Hort. 

 Kew. n. 2. — Leaves ovate-oblong, acuminate, flmiing above. 

 Panicle greatly divaricated. — A native of China, and intro- 

 duced into Kew garden by the Right HonDura')le fir Jofeph 

 Banks, K.B. in th" year 1794. It flowers from July to 

 September. — 'YhKjhrub is only to be fecn at the place above 

 mentioned, where we arc informed it makes a beautiful appear- 

 ance, when covered with its copious white blofToms, in the 

 open air. It is to be regretted that fo defirable a plant 

 (hould ict be in general cultivation. 



4. L pnenfe. Narrow-leaved Privet. Louroir. Cochinch. 19. 

 Mart. Mill. Dift. — Leaves lanceolate, downy, panicles ob- 

 long, both lateral and terminal. Found near Canton in 

 China. —This imall /r«, according to Loureiro, grows to 

 the height of about eight feet. Branches diffiife, (Iraiglit. 

 Leaves oppofite, lanceolate, entire, downy, dark-green. 

 i^fewtTj white, fmall, in oblong panicles. Arrv very fmall, 

 roundifh, of a brown colour. 



LiGusTRtiM, in Gardening, comprehends a plant of the 

 hardy deciduous and evergreen fhrubby kind ; of which the 

 fpecies cultivated is the common privet (L, vulgare). It 

 is a (hrub, ufualiy about fix feet in h.-ight, bra.xhed, the 

 bark of a grrenifh afh-colour, irregularly fprinkled with nu- 

 mero'.is prominent poiHts ; branches oppofite, the yontig 

 ones flexible and purplifh ; the leaves oppofite, on very (hort 

 petioles, fmooth on both fide!>, perfeiUy entire, the lower 

 cnes at the bottoms of ti;c frrull ijranches lealt : the panicle 

 about t^vo inches in kn^thj clcfc »ud fomewhal pyra- 



midal ; branches and pedicles appearing villofe wlicn magnf- 

 fied ; the corolla white, but foon clianging to a reddifii- 



brown ; the flowers are fwcet-fcented ; berry (uj^erior, 

 flefliy, fub-globular, fliiuing, of fo dark a purple as to Item 

 black ; it is found wild in niofl parts of Europe, &c. 

 flov/eriurin July, and the berries ri[ien in autumn. 



Of thefe plants there are leveraL varieties ; a; viththe 

 leaves in threes, and enlarged at the bafe ; with lilver-llriped 

 leaves ; with go'd-llripcd leaves, with wiiite berries ; and the 

 evergreen or Italian privet, which rifes with a ilron.'or lle::i, 

 the branches lei's pliable, and gro«3 more erett ; the bark 

 is of ali.jliter colour. The leaves much larger, ending in 

 acute points, of a brighter green, and continue till llicy are 

 thrull oft by the young leaves in the fpring : the liowers are 

 rather larger, and are not often fuccecded by berries in this 

 climate. 



Method of Culture. — Thefe different plants are capable of 

 being increafcd by fseds, layers, fuckers,aiid cuttings; but the 

 firlf method aft'ords the bed plants : the feeds fliould be fowa 

 in autumn, in a bed of common earth an inch deep, or in drills 



, the fame deptli ; but as they do not always grow freely the 

 firll year, they may be buried till next autumn, in pots of 

 fandy earth, in tlie ground, and then fown as above : when 

 r!ie plants come up they fliould be kept well weeded, and, 

 when a year or two old, be planted out in nurfery rows, to 

 remain two or three years, then removed where they are 

 wanted to remain : the layers fhould be laid down, from 

 fome ot the pliable young branches, in tiie earth, in autumn 

 or winter, when they will be rooted by the autumn fol- 

 lowing ; then take tiiein off from the ftool, with their roots, 

 and plant them in the nurfery for a year or two, or till of a 

 proper fize tor the pnrpofes they are intended : the fucker* 

 which arife annually from the roots fliunld be taken up in 

 autumn, winter, or fpring, with roots, and planted in the 

 nurfery as above ; the cuttings of the young Iboots, eight 

 or ten inches long, fhould be pl.inted in the autumn, in a Hiady 

 border, where they will be properly rooted by the following 

 autumn, when they may be p anted out in nurfery rows, to 

 acquire proper growth, in the manner directed above. The 

 varieties with itriped leaves may be increafcd by budding, or 

 inarching upon the pl.iin fort, or by laying do.vn tlie 

 branches ; but they feldom flioot fo fail as . to produce 

 branches proper for this purpofe ; and being more tender, 

 they fliould have a dry loil and a warm fituation : in a rich foil . 

 they foon lofe their varieg ition, and become plain. I'te 

 ItaUan or evergreen fort, which is now ge:;er;.l!y fiiund in 

 the nurferies, is equally hardy with the otljer fortSj and. 

 thrives in almoit any fituation : it is incrcafed in the fanK; 

 manner ; but as it feldom produces berries in this climate, 

 they mull be procured trom the pLise of its- native. 

 growth. 



Th;fe plants may be introduced in the fhrubberics antl 

 other parts- by way of variety, efpecially the evergreen 

 fort. 



But the chief ufe o^ the common fort is to form fuch 

 hedges as are required in dividing gardens tor (belter or or- 

 nament ; yet the Italian or evergreen kind (hould be pre- 

 ferred ; it bears clij.-ping well, is not liable to be disfigured 

 by infetls, and liaving only fibrou;) roots, it robs the grouwl 

 lefs than almoll any other flirub ; it is one of the few plants 

 that will thrive in the fmoke of large towns, though it fel- 

 dom produces any flowers in th- clofer parts after the firll 

 year : it alfo grows well under the drip of trees and in, fhade j 

 the fphinx ligullri, or privet hawk moth, and phalena fyrin- 

 garia, feed on it in the caterpillar (late, and nicloc vcficato- 

 rius, cantharides or blifler beetle, is found on it. From the 

 pulp cf the, bwries a rafe-coloured pigment may be pr«- 



2 pared ; 



