156 OTJE COMMON EETJITS. 



genus, but are now included under the general term Ber- 

 leris. The most esteemed of these is the Aguifolwm, or 

 holly-leaved, whose glossy evergreen foliage, very similar 

 in shape to that of holly, but glowing in autumn with the 

 richest hues of crimson and purple, presents an appear- 

 ance so attractive that for some years after its first intro- 

 duction (from N". W. America) in 1823, plants of it were 

 readily bought at the price of 10 guineas each. It is now 

 a common ornament of our shrubberies. 



Though so different a plant in many respects, an examina- 

 tion of the flower and fruit shows the barberry to be nearly 

 akin to the vine, which is therefore in the Natural System 

 classed as one of the Berleridce, and the one perhaps most 

 closely allied to the shrub which gives a name to that 

 family. "Whence its own name is derived seems to be rather 

 uncertain. It is called by the Arabs Tierberys, and Du 

 Hamel says the term is derived from an Indian word 

 signifying mother-of-pearl ; while others, again, seek its 

 etymology in the Greek berberi, or the Phoenician fiarar 

 the former meaning a shell, the latter the lustre of shells, 

 the allusion being supposed to be either to the hollow 

 shape or to the glossiness of the leaves ; though the last- 

 named quality is certainly more -apparent in the berries, 

 which, at least in the case of the white-fruited sort, may 

 be compared to some kinds of little shells. The old English 

 name for the plant (still retained, it is said, in Cambridge- 

 shire) is the Pipperidge or Piprage-bush. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



THE CEANBEEEY AND ITS ALLIES, THE WHOETLE- 

 BEEEY AND BILBEEEY. 



DWELLEES in our great cities, the first stage of whose 

 acquaintance with Cranberries is mostly the discovery of 

 them as inmates of a barrel, the label of which announces 

 that it is freshly arrived from Norway, Eussia, or America, 



