xxiv 



FLORA ODORATA 



spersed with the sim|)le pleasm^es of verdant and beautiful 

 Nature, the chiefs and rulers would resort, " to breathe the 

 balmy air, shaded from a blazing sun, to inhale the odours of 

 flowers, to listen to the warbling of birds, or to observe the 

 minute beauties of foliage," when worn out with the fatigues 

 of their high position. The favourite resort of the Queen 

 was the bowers where bloomed the Rose and Lily, vying with 

 each other in beauty and fragrance. 



" And the Jessainine faint, and pure Tuberose, 

 The sweetest flower for scent that blows ; 

 And all rare blossoms from ever}^ clime 

 Made this garden the essence of love sublime I " ' 



The Koran describes Paradise as teeming with beautiful 

 nymphs created out of pure Musk, and so fond were 

 Mahomet's followers of this dainty odour that the mortar for 

 building their temples is said to have been partly mixed with 

 its essence, and for many years the walls continued to give off 

 a most powerful scent, especially when the sun shone out its 

 brightest upon them. 



Asia Minor with Palestine were, at one time, regions 

 bedecked with glorious associations, and teeming with plants 

 bearing scented attractions ; but throughout the mysterious 

 ages which succeeded, and under the authority of mis- 

 guided rulers, these once beautiful territories have lapsed 

 into a deplorable state of neglect, as far as the culture of 

 flowers and plants is concerned. 



It may be interesting to observe what some early vTiters 

 have to say on the subject in these parts : — 



' The gardens that surround the city of Damascus,' observes 

 Buckingham, ^ glow with dazzling beauty, being well watered 

 with copious streams from Mount Lebanon — thickly planted 

 with Roses, Oranges, Lemons, all cultivated and irrigated 



