CRAT^GUS. /5/;> 



It appears that this genus did not attract much attention in Britain until the 

 commencement of the present century ; since which period, according to Mr. Lou- 

 don, the number of sorts has been more than doubled, chiefly through tbe exer- 

 tions of the liOndon Horticultural Society, and Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney. 

 At least eighty well-marked species and varieties exist in their collections, and 

 about the same number at Somerford Hall, in Staflbrdshire, made by General 

 Monckton, and at the seat of Frederick Bourne, Ksquire, at Terenure, near Dub- 

 lin. The best collections in Scotland arc in the Edinburgh botanic garden, and 

 in Lawson's nursery. The greatest number of species in one garden, in France, 

 is said to be in the Pepinierc de Luxembourg. Good collections are also found 

 in the nurseries of MM. Audibert, at Tarascon; and of MM. Baumann, at 

 BoUwyller. The best collection in Belgium is at Humboqne, near Brussels; 

 and the finest in Germany are those in the Floetbeck nurseries, at Hamburg, 

 and in the Gottingen botanic garden. Collections have also been formed in the 

 botanic garden at Warsaw, and in the arboretum of Count Wodzicki, at Niedz- 

 weidz, nearCracow, in Poland; and at the imperial garden of Odessa, in Russia. 

 Among the American nurseries and collections, the finest specimens are to be found 

 in the Bartram botanic garden, and at the Woodlands cemetery, near Philadelphia. 



It is to be regretted that our limits prevent us from describing all the species 

 of this genus at length ; we therefore confine ourselves to a brief notice of those 

 which are the most valuable for hedges, and the purposes of ornament ; and for 

 more detailed information concerning this interesting family of low trees, we 

 would refer the reader to Loudon's "Arboretum Britannicum." 



Under the name oi hmc thorns may be comprehended the numerous varieties of 

 the Crataegus oxycantha, and the races nearly allied to it. They have all deeply- 

 lobed, rather glossy leaves, with but few hairs, fragrant flowers, and small, shin- 

 ing fruit or haics. Thirty feet is not an unusual height for a tree to attain, and 

 fine specimens exist, in England, of an elevation of forty or fifty feet. The flow- 

 ers of some varieties are double, in others bright-crimson, while the fruit in some 

 is yellow, and in others black. " The hawthorn," says Lauder, " is not only an 

 interesting object by itself, but produces a most interesting combination, or con- 

 trast, as things may be, when grouped with other trees. We have seen it hang- 

 ing over rocks, with deep shadows under its foliage ; or shooting from their sides 

 in the most fantastic forms, as if to gaze at its image in the deep pool below. 

 We have seen it contrasting its tender green, and its delicate leaves, with the 

 brighter and deeper masses of the holly and the alder. We have seen it growing 

 under the shelter, though not in the shade, of some stately oak ; embodying the 

 idea of beauty protected by strength. Our eyes have often caught the motion of 

 the bnsy mill-wheel, over which its blossoms were clustering. We have seen it 

 growing grandly on the green of the village school, the great object of general 

 attraction to the young urchins, who played in idle groups about its roots ; and, 

 perhaps, the only thing remaining to be recognized, when the school-boy returns 

 as a man. We have seen its aged boughs overshadowing one half of some peaceful 

 woodland cottage ; its foliage half concealing the windows, whence the sounds 

 of happy content and cheerful mirth came forth. We know that lively season, 



'When the milkmaid sinieth blytlie, 

 And the mower whets liis scythe, 

 And every shepherd tells his tale 

 Under the hawthorn in the dale ;' 



and with these, and a thousand such associations as these, we cannot but feel 

 emotions of no ordinary nature when we behold this beautiful tree." 



Very nearly allied to the true hawthorns are the oricntnl thorns, which, with 

 the exception of the various-leaved species, (Crat;cgus heterophylla,) have their 

 leaves deeply cut, and so closely covered with hairs, as to have a dull-gray, o; 



