OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



22} 



common laurel* which is now to 

 be found in every shrubbery, 

 and has escaped in many instances 

 from the limits of cultivation into 

 brakes and woods, contains in its 

 leaves a considerable quantity of 

 prussic acid, and from this cir- 

 cumstance they have been used to 

 impart an agreeable flavour to 

 various articles of food : but they 

 should be employed with great 

 caution. 



The camphor tree, 1, is a re- 

 markable member of this genus, 

 1 



599. 



from the particularly subtile and 

 penetrating nature of the extract 

 obtained from it. The substance, 

 camphor, is so named 

 from the Latin cam- 

 phora, to drive off, re- 

 move, separate, cleanse, 

 &c, and refers to the 

 purifying effects of the 

 substance. The stem 

 of the camphor tree, 1, 

 is thick, the bark of a 

 brownish colour, the 

 ramifications close and 



• Prunus lauro-cerasut. 



600. 



extended ; the tree bears black 

 or purple berries, 2. Although 

 not established as a hardy plant 

 in England or America, it flou- 

 rishes in green-houses. 



There are two sorts of trees that produce 

 camphor ; one a native of Borneo, which pro- 

 duces the best species ; the other a native of 

 Japan. To obtain camphor the tree is cut 

 down, and divided into pieces ; the branches are 

 then boiled in water, during which the camphor 

 escapes ; the liquid is then allowed to cool, and 

 the camphor is found in flakes upon the surface. 



Chestnuts belong to the botani- 

 cal genus castanea, so called 

 from Castanea, a town in Thes- 

 saly. The two species most 

 commonly known are the sweet 

 chestnut, 1, and the horse -chestnut. 

 The term sweet chestnut is ap- 

 plied to the fruit, in contradis- 

 tinction to the fruit of the horse- 

 chestnut, which is bitter. The 

 chestnut, in maturity and perfec- 

 tion, is a noble tree, growing 

 with a resemblance to the oak. 



601. 



We remember (says Sir T. D. Landseer) par- 

 ticipating in one of the most interesting scenes 

 we ever beheld, whilst penetrating an extensive 

 chestnut forest, which covers the body of the 

 Val-Ombrosan Apennine, for nearly five miles 

 upwards. It was a holiday, and a group of 

 peasants of both sexes, dressed in the gay and 

 picturesque attire of the neighbourhood, were 

 sporting and dancing on a piece of naturally 



