HOW TO KNOW THE SHRUBS 

 GROWING IN BRITAIN— III 



With Notes, descriptive and photographic, for their Identificatiou 

 ill all Seasons of the Year 



By HENRY IRVING 



THE DOGWOOD THE PRIVET 



THE BOX 



THE DOGWOOD 



SPITE of the name, and notwithstand- 

 ing its associated traditions, this 

 shrub has nothing to do with the 

 dog. Its original designation seems to 

 ha\-e been Dagwood, the wood out of 

 which " dags " — any loose ends of wood 

 for special purpose — were made. A 

 similar name, 

 formerly current, 

 was G a d r i s e, 

 meaning the 

 shrub from which 

 " gads " or goads 

 were taken. It 

 is eas}' to under- 

 stand that in the 

 simpler times, 

 when the country- 

 man's instruments 

 »vere for the most 

 part home - made, 

 being cut as re- 

 quired from the 

 hving wood, this 

 shrub, as others, 

 was named rather 

 from the use to 

 which it could l)e 

 put than from any 

 distinctive pecu- 

 harity of growth. 

 Hence it is that 

 these familiar 

 names are of small 

 service in the 

 matter of identi- 

 fication. 



The most dis- 



DOGWOOD FLOWKKS. 

 lOI ^ 



tinctive characteristic of this shrub is 

 the brilliant blood-red colouring of its 

 twigs, particularly in late winter and early 

 spring. Again, in autumn, colour be- 

 comes a distinguishing feature. No British 

 tree or shrub can compare, for exuber- 

 ance and richness of \'aried hue. with the 

 crimson, orange, rosy red and pui-ple, 

 separate or com- 

 bined, of the 

 Dog\\'ood's fading 

 fohage. A b u n - 

 dant in the south 

 of England, and 

 particularly in the 

 chalk districts of 

 the south-east, it 

 is of much rarer 

 occurrence e 1 s e- 

 wliere. 



The straightly 

 ascending m a i n 

 stems gix^e it a 

 somewhat erect 

 habit of growth. 

 The buds are 

 slender and are 

 pressed up against 

 the twigs, being 

 arranged in oppo- 

 site pairs. They 

 are protected by 

 scales and are 

 vehety to the 

 touch, as also are 

 the twigs. The 

 leaves are a broad 

 oval terminating 

 in a i)oint. The 



