VII.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



251 



380. MEZEREON.— Lat. Daphne Mezereum. A shrub of 

 the most mountainous parts of France, three feet high, and blows 

 a rose-coloured, or white, flower, at the end of the winter. Propa- 

 gated by cuttings, or by seed sown in open earth, in drills or 

 otherwise, but covered two inches thick. It likes a light soil, and 

 a rather shady situation. A very nice plant for the front part 

 of shrubberies. 



381. MYRTLE, common. Lat. — Myrtus communis. A shrub 

 originally from Asia, Africa, Italy, and the south of France. Blows 

 a white flower during the summer, and the fruit ripens in the 

 autumn. It will grow five or six feet high in pots or against 

 walls, but if not well protected will not outlive the winter ; and 

 it requires a good aspect to make it blossom. It likes a good 

 loamy soil, and I have had it blossom abundantly in such, and in 

 a south-western aspect, in Hampshire. Propagate it by cuttings 

 of young wood placed under a hand-glass, or by layers. 



382. OLEASTER, narrow-leaved. — Lat. ElcBcgnus angusti- 

 folia. A hardy tree of Provence, about thirty feet high, and bears 

 a yellow blossom in June and July. Its foliage produces an 

 agreeable effect in parks and large gardens, for which only it is 

 proper. Propagated by layers or by cuttings, but the cuttings 

 require sheltering in the winter. Any soil suits it, but it likes 

 best a light, sandy, and rather warm, soil. 



383. OLIVE-TREE.— Lat. Olea EuropoBa. A green-house 

 shrub from the south of Europe. Blows a w hite fragrant flower in 

 May. Propagated by parting the roots, by suckers, and by cuttings. 

 They are often grafted on the common privet. 



384. OLEANDER, or Rose-bay. Lsit.Nerium Grandiflorum. 

 A beautiful evergreen green-house shrub, from the south of 

 Europe. Grows six or eight feet high, and from July to Sep- 

 tember, blows large double pink flowers of the most agreeable and 

 most delicate appearance. It requires a good, but rather light, soil, 

 water and heat when putting forth its flowers, but little water 

 and no damp at other times, as these cause a mould to come 

 round its joints. It is a handsome plant in form, and should be 

 shifted into fresh pots every two or three years. Propagate it 

 by cuttings of the young and just-ripened wood, planted under a 

 hand-glass, and with a little heat under, or by layers which root 

 freely. It is oiie of the very handsomest of green-house shrubs. 



