The Manufacture of Charcoal 233 



buckthorn, berry-bearing or black alder (Rhamnus frangula) 

 is a native shrub that is fairly plentiful in Southern 

 England, though rare in Scotland and Ireland. Confusion 

 sometimes arises from the same popular name being applied 

 to widely different species of plants, and this, unfortunately, 

 is the case with the shrub in question. What is known 

 among gunpowder manufacturers as dogwood is in reality 

 the present shrub (Rhamnus), which, however, is quite 

 distinct from the true dogwood (Cornus) and belongs to 

 an entirely different family. To those who contemplate 

 growing charcoal wood for the making of explosives, this 

 distinction is of the utmost importance, as I have seen 

 Cornus sanguined cultivated for the making of gun- 

 powder. 



The alder buckthorn is perfectly hardy, growing freely 

 even in the North of Scotland, where it ripens its seeds. It 

 is usually found as an erect-growing bush from 8 ft. to 10 ft. 

 in height, though in suitable situations in Southern England 

 specimens fully 20 ft. high, with stems 6 in. in diameter, are 

 to be met with. The bright green leaves are oval in shape 

 and vary, according to conditions of growth, from 2 in. to 

 3 in. in length, while the flowers are of a dull yellowish green 

 and are succeeded by dark purple berries each about the size 

 of a pea. From a very early date the alder buckthorn has 

 been cultivated, though not extensively, in this country 

 for charcoal making, and the price, upwards of 15 per ton, 

 that is paid for the wood, shows that the growing of this 

 shrub is a profitable undertaking. At one time large 

 quantities of the wood were produced in Sussex and other 

 counties, the selling price being 14 per ton when peeled and 

 tied in bundles. 



The cultivation of the alder buckthorn is nearly similar 

 to that of the osier for basket making, and the produce is 

 dealt with and disposed of in like manner. For soil any 

 good loam inclined to be dampish will suit it well, and an 

 open, but not wind-swept, situation should be chosen for 

 its cultivation. The land intended for growing the alder 

 buckthorn should be trenched the winter before planting, 

 and a top-dressing of leaf-soil or thoroughly decomposed 



