86 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAP. V. 



The ARBUTUS, LAUREL, and BAY, 



BOOK II. Arbutus/ The strawberry-tree. This is, i think, too 



^""^"^ much neglected by us, making that a rarity which grows so common and 

 naturally in Ireland : it is indeed with some difficulty raised by seeds, 



Of this GENUS there are five species : 



\, ARBUTUS (uNEDo) foliis glabris serratis, baccis polyspermism caule arboreo. — . 

 Lin. Sp. PI. 566. Struivherry-tree with smooth, sawed leaves, berries having many seeds, and 

 a tree-like woody stem. Arbutus folio serrato. C. B. P. 460, Arbutus. Cam. Epit. I68.— ^ 



The STRAWBERRT-^lREf. 



This sort grows naturally in Italy, Spain, and also in Ireland, and is now very common in the 

 English gardens. It produces the following varieties, viz. one with an oblong flower and ovaj 

 fruit ; another with a double flower ; and a third with red flowers. 



2. ARBUTUS ( ANDRACHNE ) foHis glabris integerrimis, baccis polyspermis, caule arboreo, 

 Lin. Sp. PI. 566. Siranherry-trec with smooth, entire leaves, berries full of seeds, and a tree-, 

 like woody stem. Arbutus folio non serrato. C. B. P. 460. Andrachne Theophrasti. CI us, 

 Hist. 1. p. 48. The oriental strawberry-^tree. 



This kind grows naturally in the East, particularly about Magnesia, where it is so common, 

 as to he the principal fuel used by the inhabitants of the country. It grows to a middle- 

 sized tree ; the branches are irregular, and are garnished with large oval leaves, somewhat 

 like those c£ the Bay-tree, but not quite so long ; these are smooth and ^ptir?, having no 

 serratures on their edges ; the flowers are shaped like those of the common Arbutus, but 

 grow thinly on the branches. The fruit is oval, and of the same colour and consistence with 

 the common ^ort, but the s^eds (rf this ar? flat, whereas those of the common sort ar§ pointed 

 and angular. 



3. KRWiJTl]^ (acadiensis) caulibus procumbentibus, foliis ovatis subserratis, floribus 

 sparsis, baccis polyspermis. Lin. Sp. PI. 566, Arbutus with trailing stalks, oval leaves, 

 somewhat indented, flowers growing loosely, and berries with many seeds. Vitis idaea Acadiensis, 

 foliis Alaterni. Tourn. Inst. 6O8. The jcadian strawberry-tree. 



This sort grows naturally in Acadia, and other northern parts of America, upon swampy land, 

 which is frequently overflowed with water ; it is a low bushy shrub, with slender trailing 

 branches, which are garnished with oval leaves, a little sawed on their edges ; the flowers 

 come out from the wings of the leaves, growing in thin loose bunches. This sort 



