184 SYLVA FLOllIFEltA. 



as almost to approach to black. The pulp is 

 soft and bitter ; the stone is round and of a 

 bony substance, divided into two cells, each of 

 which contains a white kernel or seed. Our 

 nurserymen have introduced seven different 

 species of dogwood from America, which they 

 often engraft on the common dogwood. The 

 cornus alba is very similar to the common 

 cornel shrub, excepting that the fruit is white. 

 It is a common plant in all Siberia. The 

 seeds were first sent by Professor Am mann, of 

 Petersburg, to England; but it was first 

 discovered by Gmelin, and afterwards was 

 found by Messerschmidt, near Kamschatka. 



" Our common dogwood," says Evelyn, 

 " is like the cornel for compactness, and is 

 made use of for cart timber and rustic in- 

 struments, for mill-cogs, spokes, bobins^ for 

 bone-lace, and the best of tooth-pickers and 

 butchers' skewers. Being hard and even, it is 

 fit also for the turner. In some countries 

 abroad, they extract an oil from the berries 

 for lamps, by boiling them in water and 

 pressing them." 



In placing this shrub in the plantation, it 

 should be recollected, that it seldom exceeds 

 from ten to fifteen feet in height, and that its 

 leaves contrast well with any evergreens; 



whilst its crimson sprays are not less orna- 



20 



