BARLEY OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 39 



spiny shrub of the Barberry family (Berberidacese), native of 

 Britain and most parts of Europe, and of North America. It 

 attains the height of 6 to 8 feet. Its fruit is red, of an oblong 

 form, growing in bunches like currants ; it forms a pleasant acid 

 preserve ; the unripe ones are pickled as a substitute for capers. 

 The bark is of a yellow colour, very astringent, and used for 

 dyeing and tanning leather. It is a reputed cure for jaundice. 



B. trifoliata, a native of Texas and ISTew Mexico, has red 

 fruits of a globose form, about the size of a pea. They are called 

 currants by the inhabitants, and are used for making tarts. 



B. pinnata, a native of the United States, from the Missis- 

 sippi to the Pacific. The berries of this species are blue, and 

 are called by the Mexicans " Linna amorilla." They are sweet 

 and pleasant to the taste. 



B. {Mahonia) glumacea, a low bushy shrub abundant through- 

 out Oregon. The berries are blue, acid, but eatable. It is now 

 extensively planted in this country as game cover. 



The berries of B. aristata, an Indian species, native of Nepal, 

 are dried in the sun like raisins. The bark of the root is reputed 

 as a febrifuge, and is used in ophthalmia. 



B. Lycium, also a native of Nepal, is highly extolled as an 

 aperient and for ague. From the bark a medicinal extract is 

 prepared, known as Eusot. 



B. maderensis is a shrub 3 to 5 feet high, the old plants 

 having several stems as thick as the wrist or arm. The ultimate 

 branches strongly striated or ribbed and of a bright rich orange 

 or orange chestnut colour. The wood is bright yellow, and is 

 employed by the Funchal cabinetmakers. The common Bar- 

 berry of this country is liable to be infested with a fungus 

 called /Ecidium Berheridis, at one time supposed to be the cause 

 of the disease in wheat called rust, which led to the Barberry's 

 being extirpated from hedgerows contiguous to wdieat-fields. 

 But the microscopical researches of Bauer show the Barberry and 

 wheat fungus to be distinct species. 



Barley {Hordeicm distichicm and H. hexasticlium), annual 

 corn grasses cultivated from remote antiquity in the temperate 



