786 



THE NATURE BOOK 



beautiful purplish bloom when ripe ; this 

 has a very inviting appearance, but a very 

 sour and bitter taste, until a good frost has 

 had an effect upon it. when its taste is 

 not unpleasant. The Blackthorn has 

 given rise, by long culti\-ation, to the 



THE I1A>X THORN. 



Bullace. Damson, and the different varie- 

 ties of Plum, to be found in our gardens, 

 and on this account a deep debt of grati- 

 tude is owing to it. Many country people 

 make a pleasantly flavoured wine from 

 the fruit — winterpick wine, as it is called 

 — and sloe gin is a well-known liqueur. 

 Not very many years ago it was stated on 

 good authority that much of the China 

 tea of those days was made from the 

 leaves of the Sloe. 



THE H.\WTHORN* 



This plant is a near relation to the 

 Blackthorn, both of them being of the 

 Rose family. The Hawthorn (Crataegus 

 monogyna) is also called May, or White- 

 thorn, the latter name referring to the 

 lighter colour of the bark 

 as compared \\\X\\ that 

 of the Blackthorn. It is 

 easily distinguished from 

 the latter by its flower- 

 ing season being later (it 

 is seldom to be seen in 

 bloom before the middle 

 of May), the flowers being 

 larger and fragrant, ap- 

 pearing after the foliage 

 is well advanced. In 

 the Blackthorn, also, the 

 flowers are either single 

 or in pairs, spreading 

 along the branches ; in 

 the Hawthorn there are 

 many blossoms on the 

 same level, although their 

 stalks start from different 

 points, yet the whole ap- 

 pearance is more of a 

 bunch. The fohage, again, 

 is very different, for the 

 leaves of the ^laj' are 

 divided into segments 

 which are irregularly 

 toothed, while those of 

 the Blackthorn are not 

 (li\ided, being of an ob- 

 long shape with the edges 

 \-er3' finely but regularly 

 toothed. In the autumn 

 the flowers are succeeded 

 by the well known red 

 haws, which are a great 

 source of food for the 

 small birds during a hard 

 winter. The word " haw " 

 is a corruption of the old .\nglo-Saxon 

 for hedge. 



THE BR.\MBLE 



Very few people will need an introduc- 

 tion to the Blackberry, or Bramble {Ritbiis 

 jruticosns), as it is to be found in hedges 

 and waste places everywhere. To the 

 botanist, however, it is a most puzzling 

 plant, as there are so many species and 

 varieties wliich are very difficult to dis- 

 tinguish ; at the present time there are 



