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of special or characteristic flavour diminishes as the size increases. The 

 Raspberry (Ruhm Idwus) grows wild in the highest perfection in some of our 

 northern Tallies, and the Bramble or Blackbenr is generaUy so abundant in 

 Herefordshire, and so good, as to excite one's regret that it is not more generally 

 gathered for the use of the poor in towns. The Dewberry and Cloudberry are 

 exceUent but less common. I shall not disturb the ancient companionship of 



'• the blackberry, haw, and hip," 



the love of which, generally attributed to the religious orders, seems to have 

 had at least one exception. From the hip of JRosa canina comes the best 

 conserve of roses, once used in tarts before other fruits of less flavour became 

 plentifiU. If the Haw (on which the Ancient Britons are beHeved to have fed 

 freely) had more pulp and less stone, more might be said of it ; yet the Inha- 

 bitants of Kamtchatka still use it as food. The Crab Apple (Piirus Mains) 

 though cUsplaced by its own offspring as a table fruit, and no longer found 

 " hissing the bowl," is still much used for making verjuice, a better ai-ticle 

 than most modem vinegars. The wUd Pear (Pyrtis communis) may be classed 

 with the various species of wUd Cherry and Plum, all of wliich have a pleasant 

 acid mixed with their otherwise bitter principle, and are to be valued chiefly on 

 account of the merits of their cultivated varieties. The whole of the above 

 plants belong to the natural order Sosacece, rich in Peach, Nectarine, Apricot, 

 Almond, and such as are the most valued fruits of our modern gardens. 



The Barberry produces a useful acid fruit. WTio keeps up the old practice 

 of preserving them in bunches ? The Goosebeny and the black and red Currant 

 are not found wild in great plenty, but are amongst the best garden fruit. On 

 our mountains and mooriands the Bilberry, the two Whortleberries, and tho 

 Cranben-y produce fruits of a pecuUar and agreeable flavour, but are seldom 

 eaten away from those locaUties ; the wise natives take care of them ! The 

 Cranberry may however be grown in a garden pond. 



I may here remark, as illustrating the natural taste of the Anglo Saxon 

 on both sides of the Atlantic, that while fruit, and combinations of fruit with 

 pastry, excite a tender interest sometimes even an enthusiasm pleasant to 

 witness, ordinary vegetables and their combinations with meats are^ almost 

 matters of indifference, except at the very moment of dinner. There is at all 

 other times an absence of heart and soul in talking about them which is perfectly 

 shocking. 



Of dry fruits, the wild Hazel (Corylus Avellana), from which we have the 

 garden FUbert and Cob-nut, is good and nutricious, and was once useful as food. 

 The Spanish Chestnut, which we cannot fairly reckon as a native tree, produces 

 fruit which is very wholesome when cooked, and is the chief food of the people 

 in some districts of France and Italy. The fmit of the Oak is always reckoned 

 amongst those used anciently in Britain, and the acorns of some species are now 

 eaten by the Moors both raw and cooked, as well as by the inhabitants of Spain, 



