172 COMMON BRAMBLE ; OR, BLACKBERRY. 



purplish leaves on tlieir boiiglis when all others, 

 save the Ivy and the Hollj, are stripped of 

 then' summer honours. 



Tlie ancients held the notion that both flower 

 and fruit of the bramble were efficacious against 

 the bite of serpents ; and that the young shoots, 

 eaten as salad, served to fasten the loosened 

 teeth, was an old fancy in our own country. 

 The green twigs have been used for dyeing ; 

 the stems are employed for thatching cottages; 

 and the fruits are preserved or eaten in pud- 

 dings. In Sweden the berries of the Arctic 

 Bramble, {Buhiis Arcficiis,) as w^ell as those of 

 the Cloudberry, {Bubus Chamamorns,) are 

 highly prized for various domestic uses. The 

 berries of both these species are larger than 

 our Blackberry. The Cloudberry is found on 

 Alpine moors in this country, and has an agree- 

 able flavour. It is much eaten both by the 

 Laplanders and Norwegians. The Arctic Bram- 

 ble is found in Scotland, but rarely. The genus 

 is named from the Celtic word Bub, red, from 

 the colour of some of the fruits. The common 

 Raspberry is included in it, and is sometimes 

 found wild in the north of our island. Gerarde 

 calls it Basils, or Hindberry. 



