FLOWERING SHRUBS 



and lobed, coarsely-toothed and slightly downy underneath. 

 The fruit is dark purple or black, hard and flat, not edible. 

 There is a larger species which is known as the Larger 

 Dockmackie or Indian Arrow-wood (V. dentatum L.). The 

 Indians used the long straight wand-like branches of this 

 shrub, when seasoned by the smoke of the wigwam, for the 

 shafts of their arrows; but since they have been able to 

 obtain rifles the flint arrow-heads have fallen into disuse 

 and are found no more in the Indian wigwam. This primi- 

 tive weapon (formidable it must have been) is found only 

 on old battle-fields, or by chance the settler picks up one 

 in turning the soil on his new burnt fallow, wonders at the 

 curious shaped flint, and perhaps brings it home, but more 

 likely casts it away. It is a type of the uncared-for race 

 whose forefathers shaped the stone with infinite care and 

 pains. 



There is another Viburnum, 



" . . . ,. 

 SHEEPBERRY SWEETBERRY V. Lentago (L.). 



This species is found in rocky ravines and on the sides of 

 dry hills. The fruit is sweet and pleasant, and when cooked, 

 with the addition of red currants, forms a very nice preserve, 

 pudding or pie. As the work of settlement goes on many of 

 our familiar wild shrubs and flowers disappear from their 

 old localities, and in time will be exterminated. Many, too, 

 that might be introduced into cultivated grounds and prove 

 floral ornaments in gardens, or useful for kitchen purposes, 

 are doomed to be lost or utterly neglected. 



Is there no wealthy botanist, with ample means to do so, 

 who will form a garden on a large scale and gather together 

 the forest flowers, shrubs and ferns of Canada? It would 

 be a work of great interest. 



199 



