540 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



supported by a separate stem, 

 and as many as from three to 

 eighteen or twenty in a ckinip : 

 the berry is ovate, with one of its 

 extremities attached to a peduncle, 

 where it is to a small degree con- 

 cave, the wood of which is ex- 

 cessively hard. The natives make 

 their wedges of this wood, in 

 splitting their boards, their tire- 

 wood, and in hollowing out their 

 canoes; tl>e wedge when driven 

 into solid dry pine, receives not 

 the slightest injury. Our party 

 made use of it likewise for w edges 

 and axe-handles. Tiie fruit is 

 exceedingly acid, and resembles 

 the flavour of the wild crab. The 

 pericarp of the berry contains a 

 soft piilpy substance, divided into 

 four cells, each containing a 

 single seed ; the outer coat of the 

 pericarp, is a thin, smooth, though 

 iirm and tough ])ellicle. 



The plant called sacacommis by 

 the Canadian traders, derives its 

 name from this circumstance, 

 that the clerks of the trading- 

 companies are generally veiy fond 

 of smoking its leaves, which they 

 carry aljout with them in a small 

 bag. It grows generally in an 

 open piny woodland country, or 

 on its borders. We found this 

 berry in the prairies bordering on 

 the Rocky mountains, or in the 

 more open woodlands. It is in- 

 discriminately the growth of a 

 very rich or a very poor soil, and 

 is found in the same abundance 

 in both. The natives on the 

 westei ri side of the Rocky moun- 

 tains are very fond of this beriy, 

 although to us it was a very taste- 

 less and insipid fruit : the shrub 

 is an evergreen, and retains its 

 verdure in the same jierfection 

 the whole season round. How- 



ever inclement the climate, the 

 loot puts forth a great number of 

 stems which separate near- the 

 surface of the ground ; each stem 

 from the size of a small quill to 

 that of a man's tinger: these are 

 much branched, the branches 

 forming an acute angle with the 

 stem, and all more properly pro- 

 cvmibent than creeping : although 

 it sometimes puts forth radicles 

 from the stems and branches, 

 which strike obliquely into the 

 ground : these radicles are by no 

 means general or e(|uable in their 

 distances from each other, nor do 

 they appear calculated to furnish 

 nutriment to the plant : the bark 

 is formed of several layers of a 

 smooth, thin, brittle and reddish 

 substance easily separated from 

 the stem: the lea\es with respect 

 to their position are scattered, yet 

 closely arranged, and particularly 

 near the extremities of the twigs : 

 the leaf is about three fourths of 

 an inch in length ; oval, pointed 

 and obtuse ; of a deep green, 

 slightly grooved ; and tiie foot- 

 stalk is of proportion.able length : 

 the berry is attached in an irre- 

 gular manner to the small boughs 

 among the leaves, and always 

 supported by separate, small and 

 short peduncles : the insertion 

 produces a slight concavity in the 

 berrv, while its opposite side is 

 slightly convex. The outer coat 

 of the pericarp is a thin, firm, 

 tough pellicle : the inner coat 

 consists of a dry, mealy powder, 

 of a yellowish white colour, enve- 

 loping from four to six large, 

 light brown seeds : the colour of 

 tlie fruit is a fine scarlet : the na- 

 tives eat these berries without any 

 preparation : the fruit ripens in 

 September, and remains on the 



bushes 



