HAWTHORN. 155 



park scenery, shedding their rich fragrance in the morning 

 or at even-tide, when dews began to fall, and all song birds 

 were hushed ? 



Few plants deviate less from their stated time of blos- 

 soming than the hawthorn; they are neither allured by 

 mild weather in April, nor materially retarded by storms 

 in May. Their blossoming is one of nature's indications, 

 that the swifts and temple-haunting martlets are arrived 

 on the shores of Britain, and that the primrose and the 

 violet, the cowslip, harebell, and blue speedwell, herald 

 their approach. 



Yet not alone, in its own perfect beauty, is the common 

 hawthorn. Botanists speak of three varieties: the great 

 scarlet hawthorn, with oblong, smooth, and large bright 

 scarlet berries; the yellow hawthorn, of which the buds, 

 when first unfolding in the spring, are of the finest yellow, 

 and the fruit gold-coloured; and the maple-leaved hawthorn, 

 with large leaves, succeeded by bunches of beautiful shining 

 red berries. The double-blossomed varieties are especially 



