358 Bush-Fruits 



Failure has often resulted from inattention to this detail. 

 L. C. Corbett has pointed out l that it is unnecessary to 

 leave the young plants until they flower to determine their 

 sex. He says: " There is another and easier way of dis- 

 tinguishing the staminate from the pistillate plants; i. e. y 

 by bud characters while in a dormant condition. With 

 care and experience one can readily separate the two." 

 In the pistillate plants the buds are smaller, more slender, 

 and arranged in less compact clusters. 



The buffalo berry is worth planting as an ornamental 

 shrub or small tree. Its silvery foliage is distinct and 

 attractive, and its loads of fruit, if not taken by birds, 

 render it a showy object throughout the closing months 

 of the year. It appears to be perfectly hardy in the north- 

 ern states when once established. 



The fruit has a sprightly, agreeable flavor, which makes 

 it pleasant to eat from the hand. It dries, but keeps in- 

 definitely. Fruit which lay in my desk for several years 

 still retained its sprightliness. Frost is said to greatly im- 

 prove its quality, and it may be gathered from the bushes 

 at any time during winter, if not previously taken by 

 birds. It makes a very good jelly, and is said to be 

 gathered in quantities by the Navajo Indians, who 

 probably dry it. 



The plants appear to be very productive, for they are 

 loaded with berries. Yet Hoskins reported 2 that with him 

 they yielded about one-fourth as much as barberries, and 

 that the fruit was not very good. It may prove less fruit- 

 ful in cultivation than in its native haunts. 



1 Amer. Gardening, 1895: 45. 



2 Rural New-Yorker, 1895: 826. 



