PLANTS. 267 



(R. setigera), and Sweet Briar (Rosa rubigenous), all 

 bearing hips, grow wild in North America. R. Damas- 

 cene*, White, Provence (R. centifolia), Japan Rose 

 (R. multiflora), Ayrshire Rose (R. arvensis), etc. etc., 

 are all cultivated in gardens, and brought to great per- 

 fection.* T 2. 



The White Thorn, English Hawthorn (Cratsegus 

 oxyacantha) is a bush with rugged branches, armed with 

 sharp, tapering thorns half an inch in length. Leaves 

 incised, wide and variously lobed ; fruit, or pome, fleshy 

 or somewhat mealy, containing from one to five bony, 

 one-seeded carpels. Grows wild, but is often planted in 

 hedges to enclose fields. The wood is used in Europe 

 for making whip-handles. ^. 



The Medlar (Mespilus germanica) is a thorny shrub, 

 or rather low tree, with oblong, lanceolate leaves ; downy 

 or pilous on under surface ; flowers single and solitary, 

 appearing in April or May; fruit globular, brown, with 

 one hard seed, is pleasant to the taste, but so astringent 

 that it can not be eaten when freshly gathered, but must 

 be left to mellow. Belongs to the Cratageii or thorn 

 family mentioned in Shakespeare. T ?. 



The Mountain Ash or Bird Berry, Rowan Tree 

 (Sorbus aucuparia), De Cand., an ornamental tree, from 

 twenty to thirty feet in height ; leaves smooth, pointed, 

 and serrate or notched ; buds round and covered with 

 down. Cultivated for its ornamental clusters of scarlet 

 berries. Only valuable for its beauty, as the malic acid 

 contained in the berries renders them uneatable, although 

 in Europe they are distilled into a kind of brandy and 



* This beautiful genus includes, according to late naturalist?, one 

 hundred and forty-six species, but the varieties produced by cultiva- 

 tion amount to near two thousand. 



