120 FAMILIAR TREES 



The somewhat rounded clusters of cream-white 

 flowers terminate the branches in June and July 

 Rich in honey, and freely visited by a variety ot- 

 insect life, they have a pungent unpleasant smell. 

 The pointed form of the petals, and the fact that each 

 of the four is distinct, and not united into a tube as 

 in the Guelder-roses and Elders, give a distinctive 

 character to the inflorescence. There is no struc- 

 tural obstacle to prevent self-pollination, though, no 

 doubt, the many flies and small beetles that visit the 

 blossoms often bring pollen from a distance and so 

 effect a cross. 



The flowers are succeeded by small green berries, 

 which are nearly globular, and are surmounted by the 

 much- withered traces of the calyx and honey-disk. 

 In September they ripen to a purple-black, and, like 

 every other part of the plant, are intensely bitter ; but 

 they are eagerly devoured by thrushes. Whilst, as 

 we have already seen, they were formerly boiled for 

 lamp-oil, they are stated to be used in France at 

 the present day for soap-making, yielding about a 

 quarter of their weight of oil. 



There are, doubtless, many shrubs more beautiful 

 than the Dogwood ; but its close-growing habit, its 

 clusters of starry blossoms and polished berries, and, 

 above all, its autumn colouring, justify its claim to a 

 place in the shrubbery with Danewort, Spindle-tree, 

 and Snow- berry. 



A small plantation of this species by itself has 

 recently been made, chiefly for the sake of its autumn 

 colouring, by the margin of the Pen Ponds in 

 Richmond Park. 



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