380 



C R A 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



C R A 





exposures, in gravel, clay, or chalk, and from the fissures of 

 limestone rock ; it is found in all parts of Great Britain, but 

 principally in Derbyshire, where it is called the wild pear tree; 

 and at Norwood, near London : it was formerly found upon 

 Hampstead Heath, and, according to Mr. Ray, in Worcester- 

 shire and Staffordshire ; it is called red chess-apples, and 

 sta-owlert, in Lancashire and Westmoreland ; and mehlheer- 

 baum or mehlbaum, by the Germans ; axelb<er, by the Danes ; 

 oxel, oieltrted, or oxetbter, by the Swedes ; alizier, by the 

 French ; aria or sorbo pehso, by the Italians ; and mostaco, 

 by the Spaniards. The White Beam Tree may be propagated 

 by seeds, which should be sown soon after they are ripe, for 

 if they be kept out of the ground till spring, they must 

 remain at least one year in the earth before they can appear. 

 On this account the fruit should be buried in the ground, in 

 the same way as the Haws, Holly-berries, and those other 

 hard seeds which do not come forth in the same year that 

 they are sown ; they should also be treated in the same 

 manner as the Haws when they appear, but ought by no 

 means to be headed or cut down. It may also be propagated 

 by layers in the same manner as the Lime and Elm, but 

 these should be laid in the young wood ; two years will 

 elapse before they produce sufficient roots to transplant. It 

 may also be raised from cuttings planted in a shady border 

 in autumn, although scarcely an eighth part will ever succeed ; 

 so that the trees raised from seeds are greatly to be preferred, 

 because they are more productive, and grow much larger and 

 .straighter, than those raised from layers or cuttings. It will 

 take very well by grafting or budding upon Pear-stocks, 

 us the Pear-tree will also take, when engrafted upon it; and 

 though both will sometimes succeed upon the Mespilus, yet 

 in that case they never thrive so well, nor last so long as 

 when they are grafted or budded upon each other. The 

 straight and handsome growth of the tree, the smoothness of 

 the bark, the extreme whiteness on the under surface of the 

 leaves, the handsome bunches of white flowers on thin mealy 

 peduncles, which are succeeded by red berries, all conspire 

 to render this desirable for mixing among other ornamental 

 plants, especially as it bears lopping, and permits the grass 

 to grow under it. 



9. Crataegus Torminalis ; Wild Service or Sorb ; or Maple- 

 leaved Service. Unarmed : leaves smooth, seven-angled, the 

 lowest lobes divaricate ; calices villose. It rises to the height 

 of forty or fifty feet, with a large trunk, spreading at the top 

 into many branches, so as to form a large head : the young 

 branches are covered with a purplish bark, marked with 

 white spots ; leaves alternate, on longish footstalks, cut into 

 many acute angles, like those of the Maple-tree, near four 

 inches long, bright green above, woolly underneath ; the 

 flowers are produced in large bunches towards the end of the 

 branches ; they are white, and shaped like those of the Pear- 

 tree, but smaller and on longer peduncles ; they appear in 

 May, and are succeeded by roundish compressed fruit, 

 shaped like common Haws, but larger, ripening in autumn, 

 when they are of a brown colour, and when kept till soft, in 

 the same manner as Medlars, have a very agreeable acid 

 flavour in their taste. The fruit is sold in the London 

 markets in autumn ; and the wood being very hard and 

 white, is very serviceable in mill-work. It is a native of 

 Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Burgundy, and 

 Piedmont. It is found in many parts of England, and prin- 

 cipally upon strong soils, especially in Caen Wood, and 

 Bishop's Wood, near Hampstead ; in Hertfordshire, &c. There 

 is an Alpine variety, about twenty feet high, with ovate- 

 oblong leaves, slightly serrated; the flowers in small bunches ; 

 and the fruit dark-brown, about the size of the common 



Haw ; it is a native of Monte Baldo, and other mountains of 

 Italy. The Wild Service tree may be propagated in the same 

 way as the first species, (which see) but requires a strong soil. 



3. Cratasgus Coccinea ; Great American Hair- 

 Thorny: leaves cordate-ovate, gash-angled, smooth; petioles 

 and calices glandular; flowers five-styled. It rises to the 

 height of twenty feet in England, with a large upright trunk, 

 dividing many strong, irregular, smooth branches ; with 

 large leaves, bending backwards ; the flowers come out from 

 the sides of the branches in large clusters, and as they are 

 large, make a noble show in the month of May: they arc 

 also succeeded by large pear-shaped fruit of a bright scarlet 

 colour, which ripens in September. Native of Virginia and 

 Canada. All the sorts of American Hawthorn mny be raises! 

 from seeds sown in autumn, in the same manner as the first 

 sort, or as the common Hawthorn ; but as these seeds c:an 

 only be procured from America, and frequently do not ;m in- 

 here till spring, the fruit may be buried in the ground till the 

 autumn following, when they may be taken up and sown in 

 drills, taking care to cover them, so that birds cannot destrov 

 them. The plants will come up in the following spring, anil 

 should be moderately watered twice or thrice a week in dry 

 weather; and if not often weeded, will soon be destroyed. In 

 the second spring they should be planted out, before they 

 begin to shoot, into a nursery-bed, where they may grow two 

 years to get strength, and afterwards be transplanted wher- 

 ever they are to remain. In a light moist soil their roots will 

 extend to a considerable distance, and put up many shoots, 

 which may be taken oft" in the spring, and thereby may be 

 increased ; these will also take, if grafted on the Pear ; and 

 the young branches also will take root if laid down. The 

 several kinds of Hawthorn are generally planted among 

 flowering shrubs of the same growth, where they add to the 

 variety. Although the largest and most beautiful plants can 

 only be raised from seed, the varieties of the Hawthorn 

 are continued by budding upon stocks of the common sort ; 

 which is also the method that is commonly adopted for 

 several of the species. See Inoculating. 



4. Crataegus Viridis ; Green-leaved f'irginirnt Hawthorn. 

 Unarmed : leaves lanceolate-ovate, subtrilobate, serrate, 

 smooth. Native of North America. Probably a variety i' 

 the foregoing. 



5. G'ratiegus Punctata ; Great-fruited Hawthorn. Tli< 



or unarmed : leaves obovate, wedge-form, smooth, serrate; 

 calices subvillose ; leaflets subulate, entire ; fruit orange-red 

 dotted with brown, whitish within ; stones very hard. S'a? i ^ c 

 of America. There is a variety with red fruit, and another 

 with yellow. 



6. Crntaegus Cms Galli ; Cockspitr Hawthorn. Thorny : 

 leaves subsessile, glittering, coriaceous ; calicine leaflets lan- 

 ceolate, subserrate ; flowers two-styled. Stem strong, tenor 

 twelve feet high ; bark of the stem rough, and of the branches 

 smooth and reddish ; flowers axillary, in roundish clusters, 

 generally two together; petals white, with a blush of red, they 

 appear in June ; the fruit is globular, and of a fine red colour. 

 Native of North America. There are three varieties of this 

 species, differing in the shape of their leaves. 



7. CratsgusTomentosa ; Woolly-leaved Hawthorn. Branches 

 thorny ; leaves wedge-form, ovate, serrate, somewhaf an- 

 gular, villose underneath. It h,is a slender shrubby stem, 

 about six or seven feet high, sending out many irregular 

 branches armed with long slender thorns. It flowers at the 

 beginning of June, and ripens fruit very late in the autumn. 

 Native of North America. There is a variety of this spe- 

 cies, which has longer and whiter leaves, larger flowers and 

 fruit, but no thorns ; which is willed Carolina Hawthorn. 



