WHORTLEBERRY. 



WILLOW. 



grows on boggy, mountainous ' 

 heaths,and is common in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land. It flowers in May. Taller than the pre- 

 ceding, with round branches. Leaves obovate, 

 entire, smooth, deciduous. Flowers several 

 together, flesh-coloured. Berries large, bluish- 

 black, less acid, and less wholesome than the 

 former. 



3. Red whortleberry, or cowberry (V. vitis 

 ideea.) This species grows on dry, stony, turfy 

 heaths, or in mountainous woods, in many 

 parts of Scotland, Wales, and the north of 

 England. It is plentiful in Derbyshire. It is 

 an evergreen, flowering in June. The roots 

 are creeping; stems erect, 3 or 4 inches high, 

 with a few irregular, wavy, leafy, downy 

 branches at the summit. Berries globose, 

 deep red, astringent, and acid, with much bit- 

 terness, which they lose by immersion for some 

 hours in water before they are made into pies, 

 rob, or jelly. In the latter state this fruit is 

 excellent for sore throats, as well as for eating 

 with venison or other roast meat, as is prac- 

 tised generally in Sweden. The leaves of this 

 species are often mistaken for those of Uva wti. 

 They contain much astringent matter, and are 

 little inferior to Uva nrsi as a medicine. 



4. Marsh whortleberry, or cranberry (V. oxy- 

 corcits). This species grows in clear, watery, 

 turfy bogs, among mosses. The roots are 

 creeping, with many long fibres. Stems slen- 

 der, wiry, trailing, and creeping, with numerous 

 leafy branches. Leaves ovate, entire, smooth, 

 revolute, acute, perennial. Flowers very ele- 

 gant, drooping, on simple red stalks, several 

 together at the end of each branch. Berries 

 spotted in an early state, finally deep red, very 

 acid, highly grateful to most people in tarts or 

 other preparations with sugar; {hough in 

 Sweden they serve only for the acid liquor to 

 boil silver plate in, to eat away the minute ex- 

 ternal particles of the copper alloy. 



Mr. Nuttall enumerates twenty-five species 

 of whortleberry, or huckleberry, natives of 

 the United States, 17 of which are deciduous, 

 and 8 evergreens. The following is his enu- 

 meration : 



1. Leaves deciduous. 



1. Vaccinium stamineum. Berries large, partly 

 pyriform, and green when ripe; bitter and 

 scarcely edible. 2. album. 3. arboreum. The 

 largest species of the genus in North America; 

 branches divaricated; flowers partly as in V. 

 stamineum; berries rather dry but sweet, with 

 a granular pulp. 4. dumosum. Very low, and 

 running profusely ; berries perfectly black to 

 appearance, conspicuously crowned by the 

 persistent calyx. 5. frondosum. Berries and 

 under side of the leaves glaucous ; fruit large 

 and rarely copious; agreeable, but quickly de- 

 liquescent, and subject to be infested by the 

 larva of insects. 6. pallidum. 7. resinosum. 

 Flowers reddish, angular. Fruit not much es- 

 teemed. 8. corymbosum. Fruit subacid, and 

 agreeable, as well as that of the following. 

 9. amoenwn. 10. virgatum. 11. fuscatum. 12. 

 galczans. 13. ligustrinum. 14. tenellum, some 

 times called sugar-huckleberries, small and 

 rather too saccharine, but a very agreeable 

 fruit, brought in great quantities to the Phila- 



delphia market. 15. uliginosum. The European 

 whortleberry. 16. myriiUoides. 17. ccetpiiosum. 



2. Leaves sempervirent. 



18. Vitisidaa. Berries scarlet, farinaceous, 

 and insipid. A small subalpine species, indi- 

 genous also to the north of Europe. 19. myr- 

 tifoliwn. 20. crassifolium. A variety probably 

 of the following. 21. nitidum. Branches pro- 

 cumbent and repent. From Virginia to Georgia. 

 22. myrsmiies. 23. buxifolium. 24. ovatum. 25. 

 obtusum. These two last are indigenous to the 

 northwest coast. 



Vaccinium is a North American genus, with 

 the exception of 3 species in Europe, 1 in Ja- 

 maica, 1 in the island of Taheiti, in the Pacific, 

 1 indigenous to Madeira and Cappadocia, and 

 3 in Japan. 



The species first named by Mr.Nuttall, is what 

 is commonly called in the Middle States squaw 

 huckleberry and deerberry, the stems of which 

 are low. The 5th species, or leafy vaccinium, is 

 commonly called blue huckleberry, and blue- 

 tangles. The stems grow from 2 to 5 feet high. 

 The large and dark blue berries of this species 

 are a very agreeable fruit. The 7th species, or 

 resinous vaccinium, is commonly known in the 

 Middle States by the appellation of black huckle- 

 berry ; the fruit of this has larger seeds than 

 the species last described, and, though pleasant, 

 is not so much esteemed. The 8th species, or 

 corymbose vaccinium, is what is known in the 

 Middle States as the swamp, or tall huckleberry, 

 a stout shrub, growing from 5 to 10 feet high, 

 yielding abundantly large berries, one-third of 

 an inch in diameter, purplish-black when ripe. 

 Some other species, especially the V. fuscalum, 

 and V. amoenutn, are confounded with this by 

 some naturalists. The 14th species is also called 

 the Pennsylvania vaccinium, and commonly the 

 sugar-huckleberry. The stem of this is from 1 

 to 2 feet high, and much branched. The berries 

 are middle-sized and covered with a little sil- 

 very powder or bloom when mature. The pro- 

 duct is very abundant and the fruit sweet and 

 pleasant. 



In Kent county, Delaware, a new species or 

 variety of whortleberry has been recently 

 discovered, the fruit of which is of a beautiful 

 rich white colour with a yellowish tinge. The 

 flavour is extremely pleasant, and free from the 

 least harshness or acerbity. They are of course 

 exempt from the objection to the common 

 kinds, that of staining the teeth and Hps. 



In the valley of the Columbia river a new 

 species of bushberry has been discovered, 

 called Pambina. 



WIKES. A provincial term in England, 

 signifying temporary boundaries or marks, set 

 up to divide swath, to be mown, such as boughs 

 in the common fields, or meadows. Also boughs 

 set upon haycocks for tithes, &c. 



WILD OATS. A name given to the tall 

 oat-like soft grass (Holcus avenaceus*). A noxi- 

 ous weed in arable lands. See HOLCUS. 



WILD PEAR TREE. See JUNE BERHT. 



WILLOW (Salix; from sal, near, and lis, 

 water (Celtic) ; in allusion to the place of its 

 growth : or from salirc, to leap, because of the 

 rapidity of its growth). An extensive genus 

 of well-known useful and ornamental trees 

 5D 1141 



