[ 286 ] 



Account of native Thorns. By Thomas Main. 

 Read April 12th, 1808. 



Near George Town, Potomac, Oct. 15, 1807. 



Sir, 



Yours of the 8th inst, came to hand last night. 

 I am sorry that your request concerning my transmit- 

 ting you specimens of the se\eral sorts of the Ameri- 

 can haw thorn, which are to be found in this neigh- 

 bourhood, has been deferred so late in the season. — 

 This forenoon I went out to gather them, and find that 

 the most of them have shed their leaves, and what they 

 still retain, are partly in a state of decay, or so easily 

 detached from the sprigs, that it was with much diffi- 

 culty I could get any, in any tolerable state of fresh- 

 ness. 



In this district, there are only four species. The first 

 is the cockspur, which I suppose is equally common 

 in Pennsylvania ; of this species, there are several vari- 

 eties, some with broad, large, thick leaves, and some 

 with naiTOwer leaves, one of them however, seems to 

 be dwarfish, and bears yellow berries, but otherwise, 

 the same as the rest. The second is not very plenti- 

 ful, it has pretty large, round leaves, and varies also a 

 little, almost in every plant; the third is a species of 

 the maple leaved, and is common in various parts of the 

 continent. There is in this sort a great diversity in 

 the taste and shade of the fruit, some of them being 

 very pleasant to eat, and of a light red ; others indiffer- 

 ent, and some extremely sour, ill tasted and harsh. The 



