Ji'i.Y. 157 



it without taking off his hat — not so much, it 

 is to be hoped, in veneration of the tree itself, 

 as in thankfuhiess to the God who made it. 

 The young shoots of this tree arc often used 

 as a pickle, and the elder flower ointment is so 

 general an application, especially in villages, 

 that most persons know it. The scent of the 

 elder flower is very powerful, but not very 

 pleasant. This is one of the few trees which 

 are not hurt by exposure to the sea breeze. 



Now, too, the pretty rose-like flower of the 

 bramble, (Rvbus /rvficosKS,) v,it\\ its "gauzy 

 satin frill," is waving on the long flexible 

 sprays. To many, beside the poet, the bramble 

 tells a tale of other days — a tale of youthful 

 pleasures, when roaming in country lanes and 

 fields, we gathered blackberries for our food, 

 and when 



'■■ The linnet from the self-same bush 

 Came after us to dine." 



And, in later years, when the graver concerns 

 of life occupy us, and, })erhaps, its trials weigh 

 heavily upon the spirits, it is well to be recalled, 

 for a moment, to the simple and inexpensive 

 sources of joy which blessed our childhood. 

 The bramble, or blackberry, is, when eaten 

 ripe, a perfectly wholesome fruit. Country 

 people often make this fruit into pies and 

 tarts, and it forms a good and cheap j)reserve, 

 as it requires not more than half the quantity 

 of sugar which is used for other preserved 

 fruits, and the coarsest sugar may be used in 

 making it. The red muscat of Toulon, is said 



