302 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
high, Thestems are upright, and much branched towards the top; smooth, 
slightly grooved, covered with a whitish or ash-coloured bark, which is yellow 
within, and they have a large white pith. The main stem soon becomes so 
surrounded by side suckers as to be concealed by them; so that, even where 
the height of the plant is that of a tree, its character is still that of a bush. 
The blossoms are, in general, abundant, and produce a fine appearance in April 
and May; their smell is offensive when near, but not disagreeable at a short 
distance. The tree will live for two or three centuries, without increas- 
ing much in size. The wood is hard and brittle, of a yellow colour, but little 
used except for dyeing. The rate of growth, when the plant is young, is rapid ; 
and, in consequence, in five or six years it will attain the height of 7 ft. or 8 ft. ; 
but it grows slowly afterwards, unless the suckers are removed from it as they 
are produced. It is seldom seen above 10 ft. high; but there are examples 
of trees of it 30 ft. high, probably of 30 years’ growth. 
Geography and History. Found wild in most parts of Europe, and in many 
parts of Asia and America; in the warmer parts of those last countries, on 
mountains ; in the colder parts of Europe in plains, as in Norway, near Chris- 
tiania. The berberry is found on Mount Lebanon, and on Mount Etna; in 
which last situation it becomes a low shrub, in the last zone of vegetation, at the 
height of 7500 French feet above the level of the sea. In England it is found 
in indigenous woods and hedges, more especially on calcareous soils. It is 
so common in the hedges of Saffron Waiden, in Essex, where corn grows fre- 
quently quite up to the hedge, that Professor Martyn refers to this circumstance, 
as a proof that the prejudice respecting its originating the mildew on wheat is 
unfounded. It is indigenous in Scotland and Ireland, but not very common 
in those countries. The plant is mentioned by Pliny; and, among moderns, 
seems first to have been recorded by Bauhin in his Pinaxv, and subsequently 
by all the writers on plants, under different names, till the time of Ray, who 
first called it Bérberis ; which name was afterwards adopted by Linnzus, and 
by all the botanists since his time. 
Properties and Uses. The inner bark both of the stems and roots affords a . 
yellow dye. The leaves are agreeably acid, and, according to Gerard, were used 
in his time “ to season meat with, and instead of a salad, like sorrel.” The 
berries are so acid, that birds seldom touch them. They are not eaten raw, 
but are excellent when preserved with sugar in syrup, or candied. They are 
also made into jelly and rob, both of which are not only delicious to the taste, 
but extremely wholesome; and they are pickled in vinegar, when green, as a 
substitute for capers. In some countries in the north of Europe, the berries are 
used instead of lemon for flavouring punch, &c. ; and when fermented it produces 
an acid wine, from which tartar is procured by evaporation. They are also in 
general use for garnishing dishes. Medicinally, the berries, leaves, and roots 
are powerfully acid and astringent; the bark is purgative and tonic; and 
the berries, when bruised and steeped in water, make a refreshing drink in 
fevers. The astringent principle is so abundant in the bark, that it is used 
for tanning leather in Poland; and it dyes it of a fine yellow at the same 
time. A decoction of the bark is said to make a good gargle to strengthen 
the throat and gums. The plant is cultivated in gardens as a fruit tree or 
fruit shrub; and the variety, or rather variation, in which the seeds are said 
to be wanting, and that in which the fruit is sweet, are recommended in pre- 
ference. The plant makes an excellent hedge; but there exists a prejudice 
against it among agriculturists, from its supposed influence in producing 
blight, or mildew, on the corn adjoining it. This opinion, though totally un- 
founded, is of unknown antiquity. It appears to have been first considered 
as an erroneous prejudice by Du Hamel, who assures us that it is totally void 
of foundation; and Broussonet and other botanists subsequently proved the 
fact; but the most scientific refutation of the error was given by Dr. Greville, 
in his Scottish Cryptogamic Flora. In that excellent work Dr. Greville has 
shown that the mildew which attacks the berberry (/Ecfdium Berbéridis 
Pers., jig. 47.) is quite different from any of the Fangi which are found on. 
