NS 
lf blac ful fragrance diorent nant oe heaped antilotally destroying, than promo- 
rey are ota species ; with white berries, Ss, & ting i - a po 
It is a much injured plant—ignorance and prejidice haying sa wan of Ocimum indigenous in Chili; the 0. s 
assigned toi peo of which it is enti irely i inn: ocent—such sais [saline Basil 5 which resembles the common Ba: asil, ex- 
as, that pla ants, failure of cept that the g 
crop et sixty miles from the sea, yet ev ery morning it e fo 
to be peace If atoncty cherished, it proves both usefuland | covered with saline globules, which are hard anid splendid, 
beens ntal. appearing at a distance like dew; each plant furnishes about 
this undue appreciation of its worth, no wonder that | half an ounce of fine salt care day, and is collected by the 
it hedka stand upon a dignity, and with a proper pride, repel | peasants, and esteemed greatly superior in flavor to common 
those who, 0, careless 0 the pain they inflict, play with its sen- | salt. See the Abbé Molina’s Histor ry of Chili. 
ch th t 
sibilities. The mon experim ent, of t touc —— eel Delighted Ocima at twilight hou 
these delicate filaments are so irritably sensitive to injury, as Calls her light car, and leaves the sultry bowers 3 
Love’s rising ray, and youth’s seductive dye, 
It has been observed, that when bees in search of honey, Bloom’d on her cheek, and brightened in her eye; 
touch the filaments, the anthers approximate to the stigma, Chaste, pure, and white, a zone of silver oui 
and explode the pollen, after ane *h they will resume their Her tender breast, as white, as a, as chaste 
original attitude. * * * 
So th the heart of her whose affections have been Senet, Emerged the vaporous air 
Bathes he ene tli abe aoa her amber ha air, 
Incrusts her aes form ¥ wi ith films saline, e, 
L 
tal shrine 
@ha 
who sought her society merely for the amusement of ae mo- 
ment, or perhaps, for the ignoble purpose se of gaining | her love, 
for the ak of his vanity—by a f volition, 
throws off the lon: ge cherished sentiments of preference—and 
etailtemd 
~ Darwin’s Loves of the Plants. 
BAY TREE. 
LAURUS. 
BASIL, SWEET. Class 9.—ENNEANDRIA. Ordcr.—MONOGYNIA. 
Gtrmdn wastiavoe: Nat. Ord. Linn. Nat. Ord. Juss. 
; HOLERACE. LAURI. 
Class 14.—DIDYNamta, Order.—GYMNOSPERMIA, Laurus, the ancient Latin name of the Bay Tree, for which 
at. . Linn. Nat. ba . Juss. it is retained by modern botanists, aed: eens © with whi ch it 
VERTICILLAT. LABIATZE. now comprehends a great number of s £ 
Ocimum L. the oxrmon of the Greeks. Etym: shee of the noblest genera in the whole vegetable kingdom. The 
tain. Some derive the word from the Greek oKros, quickly origin of the word i is now ‘lost in he sy se a pagoy ell 
swiftly, or from oxIMon or oKUs, op quick, rapid, etc. and whether y reg or fro 
The Ocimum Basilicum, or Common Sweet Basil, is a native daus, praise or honor, we h t the satisf to k 
India and ia; and may be wad ed among the hardy an- Bay, E.—In Spanish baya, is a i ae ye fruit of the laurel. 
nuals. The leaves ovate, peculiarly smooth and cool to th Greek Baron, a branch of the palm tree. It was used in the 
touch, and if not too much bruised, exhale a delightful fra- | ancient purifications.—Ai Ten 
grance. e calyx is remarkably hairy; the flowers violct- yhat is now called Bay, was formerly called Laurel, which 
ae a, = pee sometimes only spotted with purple. | has Sarr mage some confus { 
Basi —Fre basilic—Latin basilico—Greek basilikon, urUus, operant rel, Englsh—Daphne, — v 
signifying kingly, rie courtl ye een song s for her eemreeld was aN med into t 
Several of the Lau urel, cach which is always flou acnine as pure. | fl 
veneration by the Hindoos, and are used in their religious | Apollo, he as rT, crowned his head with the leaves, and or- (i 
ceremonies. The species most in estimation at Calcu' is | dained that for ever aed the tree should be sacred to him. \ HI 
known by the general name of Toolsey. The whole genus. is | He says of the tree, atter the metamorphosis: ub 
valued for its its fragrant, aromatic, a _— t scent ; whi ch, in Sheree twa Gxnak tick be 
1} ey Vin French ae ee 2 My mistress, I espouse thee for my tree: 
high, — out opposite four-cornered branches from the ape ane signed : acne: and Pargdoits 
hie botto anueee etens, Satncre tay grndually tweens each Thou shais th the Btn be festiv: ex pera a 
nari in acute points, indented on their “edges. The whole plant And, after sian be by victors worn. 
According to Pliny—the ‘eweet Basil, or OKIMON, was sup- +4 td 
{see sgt rom t and unharm’d Kd Jove,. 
ading as “sa immortal pow’rs abov 
ries as the loc wie ao are unston 
Sos perpetual green thy 
The grateful tree was ot so with what he said, 
Ainsworth. a But I could not “5 en that i in our more enlight- 
s} i0U 
eda weet plant 
ing a supe Tstition. 
by the learned Sir Thomas Browne i nt = "Enquiries into 
ors of her head. Dryden’s Ovid, 
Vulgar pan ete.” He says ¢ Many 1 Hat here isa 
periy in Basi io produce scorzions, and that bythe atte eves The Bay has had ascribed to it the property of resisting 
of they may infect th he brain—as advanced by Hollerius who Bis 
that smell.” But he aida A According unto Oridasius, phy- ey Soles wee eveck: does.) 
sician unto Julian, the Africans, feat at ate - The victor’s pie and the poet’s crown. WV, Br rowne. 
sons, affirm, whosoever hath eaten Basil, sith he be stung Low at your sacred feet our poor muse lays 
‘with ion, shall i i ee f 
a scorpion, feel no pain there Her, and her thunder-fearless bays. Bezumont § Fletcher. 
