30 FAMILIAR TREES 



berry tree, but blacker, and not so long but rather rounder, the 

 flowers are white comming forth at the joynts with the leaves which 

 turne into small round berries, greene at the first, and red after- 

 wards, but blackish when they are thorough ripe, divided as it were 

 into two parts, wherein is contained two small round and flat 

 seedes : the roote runneth not deepe into the ground, but 

 spreadeth rather under the upper crust of the earth." 



At the present day, owing to the violence and 

 uncertainty of its action, medical practitioners have 

 quite discarded Syrup of Buckthorn, its place having 

 been taken during the last quarter of a century by 

 preparations of the so-called Cascara Sagrada, or 

 "Sacred Bark," the inner bark of Rhamnus Pur- 

 shia'nus D.C., a native of the Pacific slope of North 

 America, more especially Oregon. 



To the non-botanical observer it may well at first 

 be puzzling to understand the association of our two 

 British Buckthorns in one genus. With the same 

 general geographical distribution, extending into 

 Siberia and Northern Africa, and alike rare in Ire- 

 land and absent in the north of Scotland, they grow 

 in very different situations. The true Buckthorn, 

 R. catharticus, that is, occurs chiefly upon chalk and 

 other limestones, whilst the Alder Buckthorn, 

 R. Frangula, prefers clay or wet alluvial soils. 

 Though they are of approximately the same size, 

 whilst the Buckthorn is a stiff much-branched shrub, 

 giving off its spine-terminated branches in almost 

 opposite pairs, the Alder Buckthorn has a far looser 

 habit of growth, with slender branches, given off 

 singly and destitute of spines. The dark, pointed 

 buds of the Common Buckthorn are erect and 

 pressed against the stem in almost opposite pairs, 



