BLACKTHORN. 41 



is inhospitable, and fragments ot wool torn from the backs of passing 

 ewes are found clino-ins; to its thorns. In the moist soil ot the 

 woods existence is less of a struggle : the tree thrires, and its suckers 

 spread rapidlv in all directions and possess themselvxs of the adjoin- 

 ing land. Grev lichens creep over the branches, and masses of 

 knotted twigs envelop them, and tempt the long-tailed tit to conceal 

 its nest in their midst. Autumn brings ripeness, thou2:h no sweetness, 

 to the clusters or truit, and thev mingle their rich purple colouring 

 with the gav tints oi the under^-rowth in the fall of the vear. 



RAMIFICATION. 



Each vear several new shoots, long and straight, are produced, 

 and the leaves upon these shoots are arranged in a spiral order, from 

 five different points. Thus, on a toreshortened shoot onlv five leaves 

 radiating from the stem would be visible, since the sixth would be 

 hidden bv the first and the seventh bv the second leat. The branches 

 which come atter rarelv keep to this svmmetrical arrangement of the 

 foliage. While the growth of some is arrested so that thev become 

 mere spikes, others are so stunted that the intervals between the 

 twigs which thev bear in their turn are not perceptible. Many 

 appear to spring trom one point, and crossing one another thev spread 

 in various directions, the short twigs and spikes standing awav at 

 ri^ht angles from the branches, the laro-er ones at less than a rieht 

 angle. This method ot ramification results in a matted bush or 

 thicket Oi stout branches or twigs, supported on an upright stem 

 with slender suckers grown round it, the whole rarelv standing six 

 teet in height. Occasionallv, where there is no room for the out- 

 ward spread ot its branches, the tree reaches a height of 12 or i^ feet. 



