SMALL CRAXRERBY. 51 



not to be found elsewhere, low evergreens of the heath family, and 

 some rare plants belonging to the Orchidaceous tribes, such as the 

 beautiful Grass-pink, {Calopogon jyulchellus) and Calypso borealis. 



Not only is the fruit of the low Cranberry in oreat esteem for 

 tarts and preserves, but it is also considered to possess valuable 

 medicinal properties, having been long used in cancerous affections as 

 an outward application— the berries in their uncooked state are acid 

 and powerfully astringent. 



This fruit is successively cultivated for market in many parts of 

 the Northern States of America, and is said td repay the cost of 

 culture in a very profitable manner. 



So much in request as Cranberries are for household use, it 

 seems strange that no enterprising person has yet undertaken to 

 supply the markets of Canada. Li suitable soil the crop could hardly 

 prove a failure, with care and attention to the i^election of the plants 

 at a proper season. 



The Cranberry forms one of the sub-orders of the heath family 

 (Ericace^), and its delicate pink-tinted flowers are not less beautiful 

 than many of the exotic plants of that tribe, which we rear with care 

 and pains in the green-house and conservatory ; yet, growing in our- 

 midst as it were, few persons that luxuriate in the rich preserve that 

 is made from the ripe fruit, have ever seen the elegant trailing-plant, 

 with its graceful blossoms and myrtle-like foliage. 



The botanical name is of Greek origin, from oxus, sour, and 

 coccus, a berry. The plant thrives best in wet sandy soil and low 

 mossy marshes. 



