THE ELDER. 267 



"The Elder," says Barnard, speaking of the English 

 plant, " is common, almost universal, in cottage gardens, 

 hedge-rows, and rums. It is in fact a thoroughly domes- 

 ticated tree, and seldom is it found in England far from 

 human habitation, although I have seen it in the wildest 

 valleys of the Pyrenees, when it appeared* to have the 

 richest scarlet berries, instead of black." The species seen 

 in the Pyrenees is probably identical with the American 

 panicled Elder, a rare species in New England, bearing 

 its flowers in spikes, and producing scarlet berries. 



The Elder has not much beauty when unadorned either 

 with flowers or fruit. Its pinnate leaves are of a dull 

 green, and seldom add any tints to the glory of autumn. 

 Its flowers, borne in large flat cymes, are very showy, and 

 emit a peculiar though agreeable odor, and are used in 

 Europe' to give to wine the flavor of Frontignac. The 

 berries of the European Elder, which is believed by Mi- 

 chaux to be the same as the American common Elder, 

 differing only in its superior size, are said to be poison- 

 ous to poultry. But the fruit of the American shrub 

 possesses no such properties. It is eagerly devoured by 

 the insectivorous birds, and is used in the manufacture 

 of a harmless dietetic wine, whose benefits have been 

 very generally appreciated by nostrum venders. 



