THE GUALTHERIA. SSf 



GUALTHERIA ShALLON. 



This is a new and interesting berry, recently 

 found on the north-west coast of America. Mr. D. 

 Douij;las, an indefati^rable naturahst, whom we have 

 ah-eady mentioned in the Part on Timber Trees, sent 

 the seeds of this plant home in 1825 to the Horti- 

 cultural Society, in the discharge of his duty as col- 

 lector to that establishment. These plants, now 

 growing in the gardens of the Horticultural Society, 

 promise remarkably well; and if the fruit shall equal 

 in size that of their preserved specimen, the Gual- 

 theria will he among the handsomest of the berries. 

 Mr. Douglas has thus described the G ualtheria Shallon 

 in that pleasing work, ' Loddiges' Botanical Cabinet :' 

 — " In its natural state it is a most graceful spreading 

 shrub, from four to ten feet high, and exceeding that, 

 when growing on stumps of decayed pines. It 

 flowers from April through the summer; and the 

 fruit, which is good, is ripe from July to October. 

 It is very abundant, and much esteemed by the in- 

 habitants, who dry it in the sun, and sometimes make 

 it into a kind of cake, for winter use. It will, I 

 doubt not, become a valuable addition to the dessert, 

 and, probably, be useful for making wine, as it pos- 

 sesses a great portion of saccharine jelly. I have seen 

 it from forty to forty-five degrees north latitude ; and, 

 according to Mr. Menzies, who discovered it, and 

 Dr. Scouler, it is plentiful at Nootka Sound. It is 

 exclusively confined to the mountainous, woody parts 

 of the coast, being rarely seen above one hundred 

 miles from it, or beyond the influence of the sea 

 breeze. The young shoots are the favourite winter 

 food of the elk and other kinds of deer." 



