mi. 31. 
Fig. 2. know we mean the elegant and fpicy Shrub with 
OF GA 
RDENING. 
2 CRIMSON DAPHNE, called MEZEREON, 
We give the Gardener’s Name, that he may 
which he is fo well acquainted; but we remind 
him firft of its fitter Title. 
The Name Mezereon is given only this Species 
and its flight Varieties ; and it would thence feem, 
if left unexplain’d, that there was no other ally’d 
to it in Genus; but later Refearches fhew they are. 
many. | 
The Mezereon, held diftinét by lefs accurate 
Writers, is now known to be of the fame Genus 
with the Laureola and Thymelea: Linn aus there- 
fore has connected it with them under one com- 
~ mon Head; and taught thofe who would {peak 
' 
with Accuracy, to call it Daphne. 
The earlier Writers were acquainted with it; for 
its glowing Colour, and its early Flowering, its 
Ptofufion of Bloom and fpicy Sweetnefs could not 
be overlook’d by any who caft the moft flight 
Glance upon this Part of Nature. 
They have call’d it Laureola folio deciduo, and 
Laureola femina: Female Spurge Laurel, and 
Spurge Laurel with deciduous Leaves; alfo Cha- 
melea Germanica, 2nd Mezereon Germanicum. 
Our Gardeners know it by the Name Mezereon, 
adding Diftinctions according to the Colours of the 
Flowers and Berries; for there is in this light 
Matter great Variation. | 
Linn aus adds to the Generical Name, Daphne, 
floribus feffilibus ternis caulinis, foliis lanceolatis de- 
ciduis: Daphne, with Flowers plac’d three toge- | 
ther, without Footftalks on the Branches, and | 
with f{pear-pointed deciduous Leaves. A Name 
conveying a Defcription. | 
It is a fmall Shrub of wild Growth, but of 
confummate Beauty : the Height is three or four 
Foot; and the Gardener’s Care fhould be em- 
ploy’d to make it fend:it out numerous Branches, | 
which, as they naturally ftand oblique and point- 
ing upwards, will make that Way a moft agree- 
able Figure. This is worth Confideration; for 
the Flowers, covering the Branches in this Shrub, 
not hanging from them as in moft others, will be 
vaftly more confpicuous as thofe Branches are bet- | 
ter train’d. | 
The Roots are long, flender, whitifh, and 
tough. 
_ The Bark of the main Stem is brown, irregu- 
Jar, and rough: that on the Branches is paler, 
and has a Tinge of greyifh; but it is not lefs un- 
even on the Surface, naturally rifing in little 
Jumps. 
The Wood is white, and the under Bark is 
green; and there is a cottony Matter among its 
Foldings. 
The Flowers appear early, and the Leaves come 
forth afterwards. The State of greateft Beauty 
is when the Flowers alone appear : they, in this 
Cafe, furround the Stalk regularly, and cover it 
in all Parts for a confiderable Length; but the 
Leaves do not begin to fhew theméelves till fome 
of thefe are fallen. 
The Flowers are not very large, but their 
Number and Luftre render them con{picuous., 
Their Colour is naturally a very elegant Crimfon, 
darker on the Outfide than within, and there 
paleft toward the Centre; where, in a little 
roundifh Opening, ftands an irregular Knob of 
gold Colour, with a flight Tinge of Orange, 
This is form’d. of the Buttons, whofe Number 
we fhall examine prefently, with the particular 
Form of the Flowers: here we defcribe the 
Clutter, | ; 
, | = 363 
April. 
This Spike is five, fix, or more Inches in Length, — 
and an Inch in Diameter; fo thick clufter’d with 
Flowers, that it appears one Body when feen from 
_any little Diftance. 
This is its moft perfect Condition ; and in this 
State, when in full Flower, the Scent is in the 
higheft Degree agreeable. 
the Syringa; with the fpicy Fragrarice of the 
Clove.” 
At Evening the Scent is frefheft of all: and 
when, in my own Garden, I have kept a double 
Row of thefe Shrubs, manag’d as I fhall here 
direct, and have walk’d among them in a mild 
Day at Sun-fet, the Air, fill’d with their Exhala- 
tions, has reminded me of the fpicy Gales of 4 
rabia, which Sailors fay they perceive as they ap- 
proach that Coaft. | Ze 
_ Variety of Colour pleafes, in our Gardens, 
even where the Change is for the worfe: we 
therefore nurfe with Care the pale red-flower’d 
Mezereon and the white, fucceeded by yellowith 
'Berries.. Thefe have lefs Fragrance as well as 
lefs Beauty ; nor is the {trip’d-leav’d Kind worth 
Notice, for the Flowers are the Perfection of this 
appear with them while 
Plant; and no Leaves 
they retain full Glory. 
As the Flowers decay, the Leaves burft forth 
from the Tops of the Branches; and, in fome 
Parts from the Sides, they rife in Clufters from 
the fame Knot: they are oblong, pointed, undi-. 
vided at the Edges, foft to the Touch, and of a 
very beautiful green. 
The Situation of the Flowers has fome Singu, 
larity: they rife from a kind of Buds or little 
Swellings, which ftand at very fmall Diftances 
all round the upper Part of the Branches. 
Three Flowers naturally rife from each Bud ; 
but this is not invariable: I have found only one 
from fome, and from others four or even more. 
They have no Footftalks; but the Bafe of 
each is plac’d immediately upon the Bark of the 
Branch, defended by the little fcaly Films of the 
Bud, which in fome Meafure, tho’ irregularly 
furrounding and defending the Flower in that 
Part, have the Afpeét of a Cup. The Scales are 
brown and oval, and the Subftance of the Bud is 
green between ther. 
The Flower therefore has properly no Cup ; it 
is form’d of a fingle Petal, whofe lower Part js a 
Tube of a cylindric Form, and imperforated at 
the Bafe;-the upper Part is compos’d of four 
, ‘ large 
It has the Perflime of 
