242 THE PLANT WORLD. 



and in the corners of the rail fences. Its long, purple, arched 

 canes are hung with an oblong berry of like color and good size, 

 tender texture, and delicious flavor, superior to our cultivated 

 varieties. Under selection and cultivation something fine might 

 be made out of several of these fruits. 



The wild plum {Pniiiiis siibcordafa) is quite rare. The writer 

 only saw it six or seven times in a four months' sojourn in the 

 valley. It is a small, slender tree not over 6 or 7 feet in height, 

 with few spines and small oval fruit, otherwise resembling typical 

 Pniiius Americana. 



The wild cherry {Pniiius donissa) occurs sparingly as a slender 

 shrub 2-12 feet high. Its fruit is not black and small as seen in 

 Nebraska, but ^ inch in diameter, bright red, sweet, astringent, 

 with a globular pit. 



The hawthorn, probably allied to Cratccgus rivularis or Doitglasii, 

 is a small tree 8-12 feet high, with smooth white bark and ugly 

 sharp spines ^ of an inch in length. More than once they un- 

 ceremoniously detained us and subjected us to a painful pause. 

 The fruit is of the shape, and of slightly more than the size, of the 

 service-berry. As with the latter, the calyx is persistent on the 

 fruit. It is found sparingly on the borders of swamps. 



The huckle-berry or blue-berry grows from six inches to four 

 feet in height, and botanists may make two or more species of this 

 delightful fruit for that locality. In the large form, perhaps Vac- 

 cinium uliginositm, the fruit occasionally reaches ^ inch in diam- 

 eter. It is globular in form, dark blue to jet black in color, and 

 dented on top when fully ripe. The opposite leaves are oval and 

 mostly acute, thin, smooth, whitish beneath, and serrulate or finely 

 toothed. In the small form, which is perhaps J^acciniitm myrtUlus 

 or ccespitosum, the berry is J4 "ich in diameter, dark red to black 

 with a bluish tinge. It frequents the drier and more open grassy 

 slopes, while the tall form occurs in dense and flourishing patches 

 upon what the forester calls fresh slopes. These are moist, shady, 

 usually north slopes with a heavy stand of forest. It was our 

 experience to find the best huckleberry patches associated with 

 the finest timber, indicating a deep, good soil and plenty of moist- 

 ure with good drainage. These patches constituted our El Dorado. 



