268 SYLVA FLORIFERA. 



pearance, and change to a faint red as they 

 decay. The double blossoms are less fragrant 

 than the common variety, which reminds us, 

 says a French writer, of those young females 

 who fear not to change their simple apparel 

 for a more gaudy dress, which adds nothing 

 to their attractions. 



The foliage of the hawthorn is of the most 

 agreeable medium green, and so highly po- 

 lished, that the white flowers are reflected on 

 their shining surfaces. 



In husbandry, these shrubs are called 

 quicksets ; and when kept well cut, they form 

 hedges scarcely less impregnable than those 

 composed of holly. The clipping of hedges 

 and trimming of trees, must certainly be ad- 

 vantageous to the farmer, although it adds 

 nothing to the beauty of rural scenery. 

 Crabbe observes, 



* 



" We prune our hedges, prime our slender trees, 

 And nothing looks untutor'd and at ease." 



These verdant walls are greatly improved 

 in appearance, when an occasional branch is 

 suffered to grow in shape of a tree, above the 

 shorn hedge. Hawthorn hedges appear to 

 have come into use about the time of Charles 

 the Second, as Evelyn observes in his Sylva, 

 " I have been told of a gentleman who has 



