BUCKTHORN. 57 



thorn or crab, principally on account of its being entirely 

 free from the ibrer, (an insect which frequently destroys 

 the hawthorn,) as well as all other annoyances of a similar 

 nature. A letter from Mr. Derby to the editor of the 

 N. E. Farmer, published in that paper, vol. iii. p. 214, con- 

 tains the following notices of this shrub : 



" You will perceive that Miller represents it as a shrub 

 growing about 12 or 14 feet high. The tree from which my 

 plants were raised, formerly stood in the garden of the ven- 

 erable Dr. Holyoke of this place, who used the berries for 

 medicinal purposes, and was as large as any of our common 

 apple-trees. He assures me he was induced at last to cut 

 it down, as it shaded so much of his garden. I was so 

 pleased with the healthy and clean appearance of the tree, 

 and the next spring observing several young plants in the 

 adjoining garden belonging to my brother, raised from seed 

 dropped in the autumn, that I was induced to transplant 

 them to a nursery, where they grew with great rapidity. 



" After trying several kinds of trees, for the purpose of 

 making a hedge, without much success, I was induced to 

 try this, which has afforded a most beautiful Yence, so much 

 so as to attract the attention of every person who has seen 

 it. It divides my garden, is about three hundred feet in 

 length, the plants set nearly a foot apart, is five feet high, 

 and two feet wide at top, which is cut nearly level. It 

 shoots early in the spring, makes a handsome appearance, 

 and continues its verdure till very late in the fall. It has 

 not so much spine as either the English or Ame'rican haw- 

 thorn, but I think sufficient to protect it from cattle. The 

 plant bears the knife or shears remarkably, and makes as 

 close and tight a fence as either of the others, and is not 

 subject to blight, as both of them have been with me. You 

 will observe that Miller speaks of it as not so proper for 

 hedges as the hawthorn or crab, which may be the case in 

 England, but I cannot agree with him as it respects Amer- 

 ica. 



" The tree furnishes a large quantity of seed, which rapidly 

 vegetates ; and I make no doubt it can be propagated by 

 cuttings, which mode I shall adopt in the spring." 



Propagation and culture. " The purging buckthorn shrub 

 is so common in the hedges of many parts of England, that 

 it is seldom cultivated in gardens. It rises easily from 



