THE TAMARISK. 



and Asia, always growing in bogs. The whole 

 plant abounds with a resinous substance, to 

 which it owes its fragrance. The leaves are 

 bitter, and are sometimes used as a substitute for 

 hops. The catkins when boiled throw up a 

 resinous wax, which may be made into candles. 

 This substance is found in much greater quanti- 

 ties in a North American species of Myrica, called 

 the Candlebury Myrtle. The plant which pro- 

 duces it is an evergreen, larger than the Sweet 

 Gale, and furnished with leaves like those of the 

 Sweet Bay. Candles formed of this wax burn 

 long, and yield a grateful smell, and they are said 

 to have the advantage of producing an agreeable 

 aromatic fragrance when extinguished. Another 

 species, which grows at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 produces a similar wax, which is applied to the 

 same purpose. 



