384 THE ELDER. 



very easily broken away ; others fail to develop ; or again, adventitious 

 shoots and suckers spring from the parent stem and grow to as much 

 as six feet in length during the year, producing an indefinite number 

 of leaves. The lower portion or the main stem is usually straight 

 for some distance above the ground, owing to the rapid growth of 

 the young plant before it bears flowers. 



The young shoots are ribbed, sometimes angular and of a pale green 

 colour; towards the end of the summer they turn greenish-grey, and 

 later acquire a red tint. The stems are often studded with small 

 projections (the breathing holes of the inner bark), which gradually 

 spread till they form seams at intervals on the branches, deepening 

 into furrows, irregular and lozenge-shaped, in the old wood. 



The dead bark on old trees is cork-like in substance, and 

 is packed closely round the forks of the stem, concealing the angles, 

 and giving a swollen appearance to the joints. 



THE ELDER (Sambucus nigra). 



The Elder will grow under almost any conditions, though it 

 prefers a damp soil. It rarely exceeds twenty feet in height and is 

 more often found as a bush only halt as high. The young plants 

 spring up in large quantities from the seed which falls under the 

 tree, and grow with great rapidity. The leaves of some cultivated 

 varieties are variegated in colour. Another species [laciniatd) is remarkable 

 for its delicate leaves, which are deeply lacerated. 



