THE BRAMBLE, OR BLACKBERRY 141 



gardener's skill to aid in the development of a spine- 

 less bramble. Meanwhile the Logan-berry, a Cali- 

 fornian hybrid between the rasp and the bramble, has 

 almost become an established favourite, not only for 

 the size and excellent flavour of the fruit, but for its 

 use as a handsome screen in covering or concealing 

 unsightly corners. It is vigorous enough to send out 

 an annual growth of twelve feet, or more, if trained 

 along a trellis with a good exposure to the sun. 



GO The rasp or hyndberry, the cloudberry, and the TheBram- 

 dewberry have the same cognomen, Rubus, as the b J^ { } arge 

 blackberry or common bramble ; but the common with many 

 bramble itself is amongst the most variable of British varieties - 

 shrubs, and has therefore a potentiality of develop- 

 ment under cultivation. Its variableness, and the 

 number of its species and sub-species, are so great as 

 to make the plant quite a puzzle to botanists to 

 arrange. The cut-leaved variety is curious, with its 

 leaf divided up in a manner resembling the divisions 



70 of the parsley leaf ; and there is the hazel-leaved 

 variety, which constitutes the connecting link between 

 the common bramble and the dewberry. Its ampler, 

 softer leaf, its larger and less compact flower, and the 

 grey bloom on its fruit distinguish the dewberry ; the 

 hazel-leaved blackberry, like the common bramble, 

 has no bloom on the fruit. 



Independently of flower and fruit, there is a beauty Its natural 

 in the shape of the common bramble which appeals to Beauty. 

 the artist's eye, and is often the effective subject of his 



so pencil. Its rough, ribbed, five-lobed leaf, and its 

 hooked and gracefully arched stem mark it off from 

 all other underwoods ; while its robust, forceful 

 growth, and air of dauntless frowardness and rustic 



