THE COMMON BERBERRY. 35 



named countries, it grows on mountains, and in the colder parts of Europe and 

 America, in plains, as in Norway, near Christiania, and in Massachusetts, north of 

 Boston. It also grows on Mount Lebanon, and on Mount iEtna; in which last 

 situation it becomes a low shrub, in the upper zone of vegetation. In England it 

 is found indigenous in woods and hedges, more especially on calcareous soils. It 

 is also indigenous in Scotland and Ireland, but not very common. It was doubt- 

 less introduced into the United States from Europe, and has naturalized itself in 

 waste places, and about cultivated grounds in the northern states, and in the 

 . British American provinces. The plant is mentioned by Pliny ; and, among mod- 

 erns, it appears first to have been recorded by Bauhin, in his " Pinax," and subse- 

 quently by all the writers on plants, under different names, till the time of Ray, 

 in 1686 and 1688, who first called it berberis ; which name was afterwards 

 adopted by Linna3us, and by all botanists since his time. 



Propagation and Culture. The original species of the Berberis vulgaris is 

 propagated in the nurseries by seeds, and the varieties by suckers. For ordinary 

 purposes, no plant requires less culture ; but, to produce large fruit, it should be 

 planted in a deep, well-manured, somewhat calcareous soil, and be constantly 

 freed from side-suckers. The racemes of the blossoms should be thinned out, in 

 order to reduce the number of bunches of fruit, and to increase its size. When 

 the berberry is intended to become an ornamental tree, it should be trimmed, with 

 a straight stem, to a height of eight or ten feet, and all suckers from the roots, 

 and all side-buds from the stem, should be removed the moment they appear, 

 and then suffered to branch out into a fine, orbicular, or drooping head. So 

 treated, it forms a singularly beautiful tree, or shrub, and will sometimes endure 

 for two or three centuries, without increasing much in size, after thirty years. 

 It may also be employed for hedges, and as it patiently bears the shears, it may 

 be shorn to any desirable form. The rate of growth, when the plant is young, 

 is rapid ; for the first five or six years, it will nearly attain its maximum height, 

 unless the side-branches be removed. 



Diseases, Sfc. The Berberis vulgaris is subject to a disease called mildew, 

 {jEcidium berberidis,) which, when magnified, is found to consist of a number of 

 small orange-cups, with a fine film over each, as shown in the 

 adjoining figure. When ^ipe, these films burst, and the tops 

 of the cups asbume a ra^^ged, uneven appearance, in which 

 state they look like white fungi. The cups are filled with 

 innumerable little cases, containing seeds or sporules, and 

 these constitute the bright-orange powder, that is seen on the 

 leaves and flowers of the berberry, and was long supposed to 

 be the blight on corn both in Europe and America. This opinion, though totally 

 unfounded, is of imknown antiquity. This error has been ably, and scientifi- 

 cally refuted by Messrs. Du Hamel, Broussonet , and Drs. Grenville and Lindley. 

 The blight on corn is generally a species of uredo, and does not correspond in 

 botanical characters with the aBcidium. One of the principal reasons why corn 

 will not thrive in the immediate vicinity of the berberry, is, on account of the 

 meagreness of the soil in which it often grows, it being impoverished by its creep- 

 ing root. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the berberry is hard and brittle, of a yel- 

 low colour, and contains a large white pith. It is of but little use in the arts 

 except for dying. The inner bark, both of the stems and roots, affords a yellow 

 dye. The leaves are agreeably acid, and, according to Gerard, were used, in his 

 time, to season meat with, instead of a salad, like sorrel. The berries are not 

 eaten raw, but are excellent, when preserved with their own weight of sugar or 

 syrup, or candied. They are also made into jelly and rob, both of which are 

 not only delicious to the taste, but extremely wholesome and they are pickled ir 



