74 THE FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY-SIDE 



ideas so mournful as those of the worshipful company of 

 poets, but a passage of such pathetic beauty as this of 

 Dickens leaves nought tJb be desired. 



DOGWOOD (CoRNUs Sanguinea) 



Companioning the yew spray on Plate XI. will be 

 found a piece of Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea^ a shrub or 

 small tree that grows in the hedges, and is more especially 

 at home on the chalk. It is very common in Kent and 

 Sussex, the hedges, in some parts of these counties, the 

 downlands, being very largely composed of it. The 

 particular piece we figure was growing on the great chalk 

 plateau round Marlborough, in north Wiltshire, but we 

 have seen it in equal profusion around Guildford, in 

 the Isle of Wight, and, in fact, anywhere where the soil 

 conditions suit it. It makes an especially good charcoal 

 for gunpowder, and in some districts is largely grown 

 in coppices with a view to that use of it. It admits of 

 frequent cutting down, and starts again as vigorously as 

 ever ; a feature of great commercial value. 



The crimson stem of the dogwood is very noticeable, 

 and is in fact the cause of its specific name, the Latin 

 adjective sanguinea signifying blood-red. When we see 

 the plant in Autumn or Winter bereft of its foliage, this 

 deep-red colour of its stems becomes especially prominent, 

 and is in itself sufficient to identify the plant by. The 

 dogwood may grow, when unchecked, to a height of 

 some sixteen feet. 



The flowers are white, having four petals and four 

 stamens, and growing in rather close clusters at or near 



