ROSALS. 465 
a berry, or a capsule, the latter opening into two valves, having a 
partition in the centre, and only containing one seed by abortion. 
They are provided with a fleshy albumen and with a straight 
embryo. 
The Lilacs were originally from Asia. Their leaves are opposite 
and simple. Two species are cultivated in our gardens: the 
Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and the Persian Lilac (Syringa 
Persica); both of them bitter, but without acridity, and useful 
febrifugals. 
The Olive (Olea Europea) is a tree of middle size, from twelve to 
twenty feet high, of a sober greyish green aspect, and without beauty, 
aving a rugged stunted appearance. Its leaves are oblong, or 
entirely lanceolate ; the upper surface smooth and whitish green, 
the lower scaly. The flowers of this tree form axillary bunches, 
straight and pendent during efflorescence, drooping when at 
maturity. Its fruit is a drupe, with unilocular stone produced by 
the abortion of one cell. The pericarp of this drupe contains a 
fixed oil holding the highest rank among oils used for alimen- 
tary purposes, which is obtained by pressure. In November, 
_when the fruit is quite ripe, and assuming a reddish colour, it is 
gathered, taken to the mill, and passed between two grinding 
stones, placed at such a distance as to crush the fleshy part 
without breaking the stone; the fleshy part and the stones being 
thus separated, the former mass is put into bags made of rushes, 
and moderately pressed. What is called “virgin oil” is thus 
obtained ; the pulp is moistened with water and again submitted to 
pressure, and the ordinary oil of commerce is obtained, the quality 
varying according to the number of times the pulp is watered. - 
The Privet (Ligustrum vulgare) is, like the Olive, nearly allied 
to the Lilac. Its leaves are astringent, and the berries, which the 
birds eat, furnish a black colour used in dyeing. Country people 
in France manufacture a writing ink with the crushed fruit of the 
Privet. 
The Ash (Fraxinus) also belongs to the same family. To 
understand the structure of the Ash, let us examine the structure 
of two species, namely, the Flowering Ash (Mraxinus ornus) and 
: the Common Ash (F. eacelsior). The former is a tree from thirty 
___ to forty feet in height—a very ornamental tree. 
mae HH 
