TUE MYRTLE 107 
haxdest which grows. That it was formerly valued for 
this quality, and used for warlike instruments, v/e know 
from Virgil : 
“The war from stubborn myrtle shafts receives.'' 
The white blossoms of this plant, with their numerous 
and conspicuous stamens surrounding the centre, are very 
pretty : but even when no bloom is on them, the myrtles 
are always beautiful. Their foliage is of so deep and soft 
a green, and has so polished a surface, that when they 
stand in the sunshine reflecting the rays, they may re^ 
mind us of what Professor Wilson said of some other- 
plants, that “ they are shrubs whose leaves of light have 
no need of flowers.” 
Several species of Myrtle, all natives of warm climates, 
have been cultivated in England. The common myrtle 
(Myrtus communis) is known to every one; it is the 
myrtle of Palestine — the myrtle of the Scriptures, and 
has several varieties. One variety, the broad-leaved 
Jew^’s myrtle (as it is generally called), on which the 
leaves grow in threes at each joint, is in much request 
among the Jews. It is interesting to remark, that though 
far from the land of their fathers, and nationally de- 
graded, this ancient people still retain many of the cere- 
monies prescribed in other times, and under other cir- 
cumstances; and yearly do the Jews keep the Feast of 
the Tabernacles, by gathering “ the boughs of goodly 
trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and the willow^ of 
the brook.” Still do they, as far as may be, conform to 
the command of the prophet, who exhorted them, when 
about to celebrate this annual festival, to “ go forth into 
the mount and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, 
and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches 
of thick trees, to make booths as it is wu'itten.” The 
myrtle to which Nehemiah referred, is the common 
myrtle, and rvas then, and still is, very abundant in 
Judea. The Jewish people attach some particular vene- 
ration to this broad-leaved variety of it, and are anxious 
to procure it on this and similar occasions. This kind is 
therefore cultivated for their especial use by nurserymen 
who supply the London market, and it can often be pro- 
cured only at great expense. 
The name of the myrtle is derived from a Greek word 
