490 BUSH-FRUITS 



edible quality of the fruit. William Falconer, in the note above 

 referred to, says that it is cooked and used as a sauce with 

 meat, especially chicken, and "it is one of the most delicious 

 sauces that ever tickled the human palate." Others do not speak 

 so favorably of it, saying that cooking increases its disagreeable 

 astringent qualities. Professor Bailey says* that he enjoys eat- 

 ing the fruit from the bushes when fully ripe, but has not tried 

 it for culinary purposes. It is too acid for dessert, being better 

 adapted to uses like those of the cranberry. It is also recom- 

 mended for jelly. 



The plant is perfectly hardy in the eastern states, and im- 

 mensely productive. Its close relation to the so-called Russian 

 olive, Elceagnus angustifolia, which is a very reliable tree through- 

 out the northwest, indicates that it may also prove hardy in that 

 region. It is said to succeed well in California on various soils. 

 In regard to propagation, Professor Bailey says:* "The goumi 

 grows readily from seeds. These should be sown or stratified in 

 summer, before they become dry, and allowed to freeze the fol- 

 lowing winter. The next spring they should germinate freely. 

 Cuttings of the half-ripened wood strike readily in June or July, 

 if handled in frames." 



The goumi is certainly a promising ornamental plant. Its 

 fruit is attractive while it lasts, and the foliage contrasts well 

 with that of other plants. In nurseries the plant is sometimes 

 known as Elceagnus edulis, and in various places it has received 

 mention under the name Elceagnus pungens. 



A closely related species, Elceagnus umbellata, also known 

 under the name "Silver Thorn," has been sometimes sold for 

 Elceagnus longipes, and in other cases sold under its right name. 

 This is larger, more open and more thorny than the goumi, with 

 lighter colored branches, and its fruit, which is smaller and 

 possesses no value, ripens later. The plant possesses about 

 the same ornamental qualities as E. longipes, but according to 

 Dippel,t is less hardy in Germany. 



*Bull. 117, Cornell Uiiiv. Exp. Sta., p. 383. 

 tHandbuch der Laubholzkunde, 3 : 207. 



