OCTOBER 261 



reason of its fruit is the sea-buckthorn, or salloAv-'thorn 

 (HippophoR rhamnoides). It is a dicecious shrub, the 

 sexes being on separate plants, and the females only 

 bearing berries ; but these are thickly studded on every 

 twig with clusters of orange-yellow berries, contrasting 

 charmingly with the silvery foliage. Some varieties 

 bear brown berries, but such ought to be rigidly sup- 

 pressed. The popular name, sea-buckthorn, is rather 

 misleading, and arises from the fact that in England 

 the plant is only found wild on waste land near the sea, 

 but its real home is in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, 

 and it will be found to make itself quite at home in 

 inland places. 



Of more vivid orange are the seeds of the gladdon, 

 or woodland iris (Iris fostidissima), now displayed in 

 many a south-country hedgerow by the opening of the 

 large triple capsule containing them. This is a herb 

 which is well worth planting in those parts of the 

 country where it does not come spontaneously ; it takes 

 care of itself in waste places under trees : and as for the 

 uncomplimentary title bestowed upon it by men of 

 science, why, the worst that can be alleged against it is 

 that the leaves when bruised give out an odour of cold 

 roast beef. If that is unpleasant to you, don't bruise 

 the leaves. 



One of the most curious, and at the same time most 

 showy, British berries is the fruit of the butcher's 

 broom (Ruscus aculeatus). It is borne abundantly in 

 the southern counties, but will not ripen beyond the 

 northern limits of the nightingale, though the plant 



