THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



F. That is the Leather plant (Dirca Palustris), so 

 called from the extreme toughness of the inner bark, which 

 is so strong that the stoutest man could not break, by pulling, 

 a strip of an inch in width, taken from the main stem. The 

 bark is used as strings for many purposes, especially by 

 millers, who collect great quantities for the purpose of tying 

 their flour bags. The wood, when stripped of the bark, is 

 remarkably soft and brittle, snapping with the slightest 

 effort, almost like the pith of elder. Like the elm, it blos- 

 soms before leafing. It is here commonly known by the 

 name of Wickaby. 



C. The leaves of the raspberry are opening. Is this 

 plant a native ? 



F. I believe it is : Eaton mentions it by the name of 

 Rubus Idceus, among the native plants. It grows and spreads 

 abundantly, so as quickly to overspread a large space of 

 ground. I have never seen it in the primitive woods, but 

 whenever a clearing is made, the raspberry appears. I 

 think it is the most delicious of our native fruits ; fully 

 equal, if not superior, to the garden raspberry of England : 

 an unusual thing, for the advantage is almost universally 

 on the side of the cultivated fruit. In Newfoundland, it 

 also grows abundantly, and in the most unpromising situa- 

 tions, springing up from a mere bed of stones. As a weed 

 it is troublesome, and not very easy to eradicate : mowing 

 will, however, keep it down in grass land, and in tillage 

 land we plough them up, and turn the bushes under the 

 furrow. The stumps of trees that have been cut down, 

 which we are obliged to leave in the ground for several years, 

 but which give our fields so unsightly an appearance, are 

 invariably surrounded by a clump of raspberry bushes ; 

 these seem privileged places. Another fruit-bearing plant, 

 but of somewhat fairer proportions, is leafing ; the Black 

 Cherry (Prunus Virginiana). The cherry grows to a con- 



