On the Cornus florida of the United States, 3 



scattered ones between, the upper surfaces having also numerous 

 conspicuous ridges. The flowers are placed on the ends of the 

 branches, supported by a club-shaped footstalk. They are ex- 

 tremely small, and aggregated together in numbers of twelve or 

 more in a head, surrounded by a showy involucre, three or four 

 inches in length, and which is supposed by the non-scientific to 

 be the flower. The flowers themselves are of a greenish yellow 

 colour, but the four large obcordate leaves of the involucre are 

 white, and sometimes tinged with violet. The outer extremity of 

 each is notched as if from injury and this notch is purple or rose 

 coloured. The calyx is extremely small. The petals and stamens 

 are each four in number. There is one pistil with a filiform 

 style nearly as long as the corolla. The fruit is a group of ob- 

 long, oval, shining, bright scarlet berries, crowned with the rem- 

 nant of the calyx. They appear placed in the fork of two branch- 

 es, which arises from the fact that while the flowers are terminal, 

 yet ere the fruit is perfected, the two branchlets for the flowers of 

 the succeeding year are developed and grow up on each side. 

 These berries ripen here about July or August, and are eagerly 

 devoured, despite their bitterness, by birds in the winter season. 

 In Louisiana, the C. florida flowers in February, in our vicinity 

 in April and May, and farther north in June and July. It is in 

 bloom for a fortnight, during which time the Indian farmers say, 

 Indian corn should be planted. The plant is of slow growth, and 

 has a hard, heavy, solid wood, of a close texture, and susceptible 

 of a high polish. It is often called Boxwood, and used as a substi- 

 tute for it in the manufacture of handles of chisels, hammers, and 

 such tools, for the cogs of wheels, teeth of harrows, spoons, &c. 

 Soon after the fruit commences to ripen the leaves begin to change 

 their colour, turning to a purple and then to a rich crimson or 

 purple colour, and a bright russet beneath, forming one of the most 

 beautiful objects of our forests during the fall months. It is fig- 

 ured in Botanical Magazine, t. 526. 



Chemical analysis shows that the bark of the root, stem, and 

 branches, which are bitter, astringent, and aromatic, contain in 

 difi'erent proportions, the same substances as are found in Cinchona, 

 except that there is more gum, mucilage, galhc acid, and extractive 

 matter, and less resin, quinine and tannin. The principle ob- 

 tained from it is called Cornine, and its salts have all the properties 

 of these of quinine, though not so strongly marked. The principle 

 is also difficult to obtain in any quantity. The extract of Dog- 



