298 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



residence, and also for Mount Pentilikon, a delightful excursion even 

 during the summer. Masses of Terebinth, Dwarf Oaks, Heaths, Wild 

 Olive, Pistacia Lentisci^z, and Arbutus, which, under the name of 

 Myathis, was once sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, are conspicuous 

 features of the mountain vegetation. The Arbutus is occasionally 

 uprooted and sent to Alexandria, where it is sold as a fruit tree to 

 unsuspecting amateurs. 



On the lower slopes of Mount Pentilikon Poterium sjpinosmn forms 

 springy cushions sometimes three feet across. Cultivated plants of this 

 Poterium used to be plentiful on a small rockery in the Botanic Garden 

 at Bome, but they were never so large as those which occur in a wild 

 state in Greece, &c. 



The delicious odour of the mountain air is due to Oistus, Pines, and 

 the Wild Thyme {Thymus capitatus), from which the bees make the 

 famed Hymettos honey. As a matter of fact, this plant is by no means 

 confined to Mount Hymettos ; it occurs on most hills, and is also found 

 in the lowlands, where, as at Olympia, for instance, it loses its prostrate 

 habit and becomes an erect shrub one foot to two feet tall, flowering 

 throughout the summer months. Thymus capitatus is sometimes used 

 for edging paths in Greek gardens. Gazania, Vinca, an ornamental 

 grass [Pennisetum longistylum), and, strange to say, the Lucerne are 

 also employed for this purpose. 



