215 



will thrive. The trees will thrive in any ordinary good land, but the 

 most congenial soil is a deep, rich, sandy loam. Baobab trees in their 

 native regions attain a great age, and there are specimens living supposed 

 to be over one thousand years oid. Propagation is affected by seeds 

 which may be sown at any time, layers which root freely if put down in 

 the autumn or spring, and cuttings of the previous season's wood, inserted 

 in sand in a frame, or under a glass. 



BARBERRY. 



HISTORY AND USES. 



Edible fruits are obtained from several species of Berberis, a genus 

 which is the type of the natural order Berberidacce. The name is derived 

 from the Arabic Berb-rys. They are mostly deciduous shrubs, found 

 growing in mountain regions in various parts of the world In the United 

 Kingdom the fruit of Berberis vulgaris, a species indigenous to most 

 parts of Europe, is used to some extent under the name of Berberries or 

 Barberries. The berries are red, grow in bunches, are intensely acid, 

 and cannot be eaten in a raw state. They, however, make a piquant 

 acid jelly when preserved with sugar, which is considered to be of some 

 medicinal value, and also a pleasant pickle. This species was formerly 

 very common in England, but it has been banished to a large extent of 

 late years, from the general belief that the plants afforded breeding 

 grounds for the rust fungus that is so troublesome to wheat crops. It 

 embraces a number of varieties that vary considerably in habit, foliage, 

 and colour of the fruit, which includes various shades of red, purple, 

 violet, black, yellow, and white. Berberis Oanadensis, which yields the 

 American Barberry, is somewhat similar to the European species, and by 

 some botanists is considered to be identical. Berberis Fremonti, a 

 handsome American evergreen species, grows eight or ten feet high, and 

 and bears ovate dark blue berries about the size of small Currants. 

 Berberis Siberica is a Siberian dwarf species with oval red fruit. Berberis 

 buxifolia, a South American species, yields comparatively large black 

 fruit, which is less acid than the common Barberry, but more astringent. 

 This fruit is used to some extent in Chili and Peru. Two species from 

 the Himalayas known as Berberris Asiatica and Berberis Nepalensis, the 

 latter being an evergreen shrub, also yield edible berries that are utilized 

 in their native localities. 



CULTIVATION AND PROPAGATION. 



In this part of the world the Berberis family are well known as 

 ornamental shrubs, and many species are cultivated as such, but they are 

 not utilised as fruit-bearing plants. It is somewhat doubtful whether 

 they will ever become popular as such, as they are grtatly inferior 



