346 VOICES FROM THE WOODLANDS. 



trees, closely planted and clipped, and surrounded with 

 arm-chairs of the same. The old tree remains, but the 

 staircase and passage, the table and seats, have long since 

 disappeared. 



My wood is hard and smooth, and beautifully veined 

 with red : it is used at the present time for axle-trees, and 

 cogs for mill-wheels, and flood-gates for fish-ponds, which 

 are almost imperishable, for bedsteads, which are said to 

 deter bugs, and for gate-posts, lasting as those of iron. 

 The wood is, likewise, in great request for chairs and the 

 steps of ladders. 



The berries are sweet and viscid, and children eat the 

 pulpy part without inconvenience, as also swine and field- 

 fares ; but the fresh leaves are fatal to the human species, 

 and loppings in a half-dried state are detrimental to cattle. 

 Instances have frequently occurred wherein healthy animals 

 which have been turned into fields, or paddocks, where the 

 gardener has thrown his clippings, have died from eating 

 them, in the course of a few hours. A remedy has, however, 



