OF FORES

lw't P^ ant Branches which they always bear,

Make them with cafe to any thing adhere.

The pleasing Odors which their Flow’rs expire,

Make the young Nymphs and Matrons them desire;hose to adorn themselves withal; but these* 0 S^ace the Altars of the Deities.

VVtth foreign Jajsemine be also stor’d,

"oh as Iberian Valleys do afford -.

hose which we borrow from the Postugueze ;

-ri, '-them which from the Indies o’re the SeasWe fetch by Ship ; in each of which we findA difference of Colour, and of Kind.

Though gentle Zesihyrus propitious proves,

And welcome Spring the rigid Cola removes ;

Haste not too soon this tender Plant t’ expose,

Your Garden’s Glory ; the rash Primrose lhowsDelay is better; since they oft arc lost,

By venturing too much into the Frost.

The cruel Blasts which come from the North Wind,

To over-hasty Flow’rs arc still unkind.

Dct others ills create this good in you,

Without Deliberation nothing do.

For this will scarce the open Air endure,

Till by sufficient warmth it is secure.

. No Tree your Gardens, or your Fountains moreAdorns, than what th ' Jtlantick Apples bore.

A deathless Beauty crowns its shining Leaves,

And to dark Groves its Flower Lustre gives.

Besides the Splendor of its golden Fruit,

Of which the Boughs are never destitute;

This gen’rous Shrub in Cafes then dispose,

Made of strong Oak, these little Woods compose;Whose gilded Fruits-, and Flow’rs which never fade, ■A grace to th’ Country and your Garden add, ^

Proud of the Treasures Nature has bestow’d.

When snowy Flow’rs the slender Branches load.

And straying Nymphs to gather them prepare,

Molest them not, but let your Wife be there;

Your Children, all your Family employ,

That so your House its Odors nmy enjoy:

That with sweet Garlands all may shade their Brows;for in their Flow’rs these Plants their vigor lose.Luster the Nymphs to crop luxuriant Trees,

And with their fragrant Wreaths themselves to please.Such soft Delights they love; then let them still.With their freslv-gathcr’d Fruit their Bosoms fill.These Apples Ataianta once betray’d;

They, and not Love, o’recame the cruel Maid,

These were the golden Balls which stack’d her pace,And. made her lose the Honour of the Race.

But these sweet Smells, and pleasant Shades will/ cease,

Nor longer be your Gardens happiness;

Unless the hostile Winter be repress’d,

And those strong Blasts sent from the stormy Fast.Wherefore to hinder these from doing Ham,

You must your Trees with Walls defensive Arm,

.To such warm Seats they ever are inclin’d,

Where they avoid the Fury of the Wind.

These Plants, besides that they this Cold would shun,Hook for th’ Affyrian, and the M e d‘un Lun.ln parched Africa they flourish more,

Than if they .grow by Strimon’s Icy Shore.

*-est then the Frost, or barb’rous North should WastYour Flow'rs, while all the Sky is over-castYYirhduskifh Clouds, Sheds, set apart prepare,

To guard them from the Winter’s piercing Air.;

Tstl thie kind Sun these Tempests does disperse,

And with his Influence chears the Universe,fhen calmer Breezes shall o’er Storms prevail.

And your fresh Groves shall sweet Perfumes exhale.a ~ js^TVce; are various, and the Fruits they bear,Are dift’rent too. The Limons always areut oval Figure, underneath whose Rind,a Juice ungrateful to our Taste vie find-

V7

But though at first our Palates it displease,let better with our Stomach it agrees.

Others less sharp do in Iletruria spring ;

Some, that are mild, from Portugal we bring.

Another sort from old Aurantia came,

To which that City does impart its Name.

Hard by Dircaon Aracynthus liesThis ancient Town ; the Orange hence does rise*

To which in Rind and Juice the Limons yield.

By each new Soil new Tastes are oft instill’d.

Mind not the Fables by the Grecians told,

Of the Hesperian Sisters, who of oldOn vast Mo,unt Atlas, near the Libyan Sea,

With greatest Care did cultivate this Tree:

Of fierce Alcides, who by Force brake in,

And in the Spoils of the Nemean Skin ;

And from th eDragon, who securely slept,

Stole, with Success, the Apples which he kept,Return’d to the Avcntine, lie sets that HillWith Orange-trees, which Italy now fill.

But Things of greater Moment are behind;

For Purple Oleander may be join’dWith Oranges, and Myrtles ; each of thesePeculiar Qraees of their own possess.

The Myrtle chiefly, which, if Fame fays true,

From the God's Bounty its beginning drew.

When Venus plac’d it in the pleasant ShadeOf the Idean Vales, about it play’dWhole Troops of wanton Cupids , while the NightWas clear, and Cynthia did display her Light.

This Citherea above all prpscrs,

And by transcendent Favour made it hers.

With Myrtle , hence, the wedded Pair delightsTo crown their Brows as Hymeneal Rites.

Hence Juno , who at Marriages presides,

For Nuptial Torches always these provides,

Eriphyle, fad Frocri}, Phadra too,

And all those Fools, who in Elysium wooe,

Honour this Plant, and under Myrtle Groves,

If after Death they last, recoups their Loves.

Proud Victors with its Boughs themselves adorn,While round their Temples Wreaths with it areworn.

Tudertus, when the vanquilh’d Sabines fled,

Plac’d one of these on his. triumphant Head.

The Trunk is humble, and the Top as low,

On which soft X-eaves and.curled Branches grow-Its grattjful Smell, and Beauty so exact,

Th’ admiring Nymphs from ev’ry Part attract.

If too much Heat, or sudden Cold surprize.

Which are alike the Myrtles Enemies ;

You must avoid them both, and quickly placeThe tender,Plant within a Wooden-Gale.

Sheds may protect them, if the Gyld be great,

Or watj-ing from the Summer’s scorching Heat;

No impious Tool, our Tenderness allows

To fell these Qrgyes, nor Cattel here must browse,.

Oft Oleanders in great Faffs live,

With Myrtles mix’d, and Oranges , and giveSome Graces to your Garden, which ariseFrom the Confusion of their dist'rent Dies.

In watry Vales, where pleasant Fountains flow,Their fragrant Berries, lovely Bay-trces show;

With Leaves for ever green, nor can we guessBy their Endowments, their Extraction less.

The charming Nymph Hv’d by clear Pcneus Side,

And might to Jove himself have been ally’d,

But that dhe cfiose in Virtues Paths to tread*

And thought a God unworthy of her Bed.

Phœbus, whose Darts of late successful prov’dIn Python’s Death expected to be lov’d ;

And had flic not withstood blind Cupid's Pow'f,

The fiery Steeds and Heav’n had been her Dow'r: !

I But ihe by her Refusal more obtain’d, '

And losing him, immortal Honour gjind;

■ ' / ’ - 4 L ’ Cherilh d

T ■ T R E E S.