WILD FRUITS 49 



Gilbert White noticed it more than a hundred years 

 ago. In the hilly districts of the north another member 

 of the same tribe, known as cowberry, is also found, 

 the berries of which resemble those of the cranberry 

 for which they are sometimes sold. 



In conclusion one more plant, belonging to the 

 Ericacece, must be mentioned. This is the handsome 

 evergreen shrub, Arbutus unedo, the strawberry tree, 

 which grows abundantly in a wild state about the 

 beautiful lakes of Killarney. The fruit, which re- 

 sembles a strawberry in shape and colour, is occasion- 

 ally eaten by the Irish peasantry. It is, however, very 

 dry and of a somewhat insipid flavour. Indeed, it is 

 this characteristic of the fruit which gave to the plant 

 its specific name of unedo, " One I eat," as if to imply 

 that having tasted one berry no man would care to 

 try a second. 



