[ 42 ] 



The Pyracanihay or evergreen-thorn^ recommended to 

 the attention of the farmer ^ as superior in many res- 

 pects to any other plant yet tried in this country for 

 the purpose of forming close and substantial live fen- 

 ces. With remarks on the proper mode of its applica- 

 tion^ culture^ trimmings ^c. Respectfully inscribed 

 to the President and members of the Agricultural So- 

 ciety of Philadelphia, By Thomas Main, 



The Pyracantha is an indeciduous shrub, thickly set 

 with small oval leaves, and abundantly armed with 

 sharp prickles, After it is three years old, it annually 

 produces its umbels of white flowers, which are rather 

 pretty than splendid, in the month of June, at the same 

 time when the American hedge thorn is in blos- 

 som. By the beginning of September it appears em# 

 bellished with numerous long roquets, and large clus- 

 ters of scarlet coloured berries, which continue on the 

 plant through a great part of the winter. At the com- 

 mencement of frosty weather, the green hue of its fo- 

 liage is changed into a deep purple, of which complex- 

 ion the whole plant remains until the return of spring, 

 when its leaves again resume their verdant tincture, 

 but of a tarnished and dingy appearance, till the new 

 shoots restore its former freshness and beauty. The 

 mode of growth, and appearance of the Pyracantha, is 

 not easy to be described ; its lowermost limbs and 

 sprays recline upon the surface of the earth, and in a 

 few years closely cover a considerable space, around 

 the original stem, which in a generous soil will some- 

 times soon acquire the size of a person's ancle ; but it 



