260 EOSACE^ 



native, only one instance being recorded in which it seems to grow quite 

 away from cultivated spots ; this is a solitary tree in Wyre Forest, near 

 Bewdly, in Worcestershire. The tree has much the aspect of the Mountain 

 Ash, but the fruits are considerably larger than the Eowan berries. Its 

 showy white flowers appear in May. It is not very often cultivated in Eng- 

 land ; but in some parts of France, and near Genoa, it is reared for its fruits, 

 two varieties being grown, one termed the apple-fruited, the other the pear- 

 fruited Service. These fruits are not eaten until in a state of incipient 

 decay. The trees so common in our shrubberies, called the Pinnatifid and 

 the Hybrid Service-trees, bear similar fruits in abundance. They are both 

 varieties of the Beam-tree (Fyrus aria). The True Service-tree is a native of 

 the south of Europe, where it attains a much larger size than with us. It 

 also grows in many northern countries, as in Kamtschatka, where the natives 

 use the berries as food. In some parts of the North, an ardent spirit is 

 produced from them by distillation. 



5. Mountain Ash (P. aucupdria). — Leaves pinnate, serrated ; flowers in 

 corymbs ; fruit nearly round. Plant perennial. This tree, with its graceful 

 feathery leaves, is familiar to us from being so frequent in gardens, shrub- 

 beries, in squares, and walks of cities, where may be seen — 



" The Mountain Ash, whose crimson berries shine ; 

 The flaxen birch, that yields the fragrant wine !" 



It is sometimes twenty feet high, and the bright green leaves, which when 

 young are downy on the under surfaces, are formed of from seven to nine 

 pairs of leaflets, terminated by an odd one. The flowers, which grow in 

 dense clusters, and are greenish-white, appear in May ; they are neither so 

 large nor so handsome as those of the hawthorn, but have somewhat of their 

 sweet fragrance. In autumn, however, the tree is more beautiful than in 

 summer ; for at that season the rich cluster of red fruits gleams among the 

 foliage, each berry having the form of a tiny apple, and containing a little 

 core and seeds within. The child strings the berries for necklaces, and the 

 cook gathers them to garnish the dishes. To most people their flavour is 

 rather agreeable, and a few may be safely eaten ; but children should not be 

 allowed to eat these astringent fruits in large numbers. In Wales, ale and 

 beer are made of the berries, and the poor people prepare from them a fer- 

 mented liquor, very similar in flavour to perry. In the Highlands, a spirit 

 is distilled from them. To the thrush and blackbird they are invaluable ; 

 and when we mark the havoc made by these birds on the berries, we must 

 recall the songs of last spring, or look forAvard to that which is coming, as 

 payment for the mischief. The old use of these berries by bird-catchers is 

 recorded in one of the familiar names of the tree, the Fowler's Service, 

 and they are still employed to allure birds into the net. A good colour for 

 dyeing is also obtained from them. In some of the German burial-grounds, 

 the surface of the tomb is raked smooth, and crosses, initials, and various 

 devices are made by laying the Mountain Ash berries in the soil ; while on 

 other graves the mourners form these crosses of the white waxen fruits of 

 the Snowberry. 



The Eowan-tree is frequent in woods and hedges in mountainous districts, 



