XXVII. 1. THE COCKSPUR THORN. 433 



should not be gathered till they are dead ripe. As many haws 

 contain more than one seed, they ought not to be put in the 

 ground entire, but, if they are to be sown immediately, they 

 must be macerated in water till the pulp is separated from the 

 nuts ; and the latter should then be mixed with dry sand, to 

 keep them separate, and to enable the sower to scatter them 

 equally over the surface ; they should be sown in November or 

 December, as soon as separated from the pulp. They may be 

 sown thinly in beds, the seeds being scattered so as to lie about 

 one inch apart every way, and covered about a quarter of an 

 inch. At the end of the first year's growth, the strongest of the 

 plants may be thinned out from the beds, and planted in nursery 

 lines; and in the autumn of the second year, the remaining 

 plants may be taken up for the same purpose. Hawthorns 

 ought always to be two years transplanted before they are em- 

 ployed for hedges ; younger and untransplanted plants, though 

 cheaper to purchase, are always the most expensive to the 

 planter, as they require temporary protection for a longer pe- 

 riod." — London, II, 840. 



When the pear is grafted into the thorn, it should be done 

 close to the surface of the ground, or even beneath it, as other- 

 wise there is danger of the trunk out-growing the root, and 

 being blown over by the wind. 



Sixteen species, according to Torrey and Gray, are found in 

 North America. The following are found in Massachusetts : — 



Sp. 1. The Cockspur Thorn. C. crusgalU. L. 



This is a singularly neat shrub, often forming a beautiful, 

 round-headed, small tree, ten or fifteen feet in height. The trunk 

 is erect, with a rough, scaly bark, and set with sharp thorns. 

 The branches are gray, numerous, large, nearly horizontal, and 

 very thorny. Recent shoots of a reddish gray. The leaves are 

 entire, inversely egg-shaped, tapering regularly from near the 

 end to the base of the footstalk. They are rounded or pointed 

 at the extremity, serrate, except towards the base, dark green, 

 smooth and very shining above, paler, but smooth and conspic- 

 uously reticulated beneath. 



The flowers are in irregular corymbs, with a leafy footstalk, 

 56 



