WHITE THORN. 



73 



before that time ; and as the seeds do not vegetate till 

 the second year, it is usual to mix the haws with sand 

 or dry earth, and turn them frequently over for the first 

 year, in order to hasten the decomposition of the pulp 

 and separate the seeds. 



They are sown in beds in the February or March of 

 the second year, being covered with fine soil to the depth 

 of about a quarter of an inch. Many of the seedlings will 

 be strong enough at the end of the first year's growth 

 to be thinned out and planted in nursery rows, and the 

 remainder in the autumn of the second year, and after 

 remaining two, or sometime three years in the nursery 

 rows, they are fit to run into the hedge rows. 



The Common Thorn is also used as a stock whereon 

 to bud and graft the numerous varieties of the species, 

 as well as other species of Crataegus ; indeed its usefulness 

 does not end here, as it also serves as a stock for several 

 allied genera, such as Mespilus, Sorhis, Pyrus, Cydonia, 

 &c, a quality which, as Loudon well observes, might be 

 advantageously made use of to render our field-hedges 

 ornamental, as well as productive of useful fruit. 



Amongst the several varieties of the Thorn, of which no 

 less than twenty-nine are enumerated by Loudon, the 

 most elegant and best worth cultivating are those with 

 scarlet or pink flowers : the Cr. ox. rosea, a variety that 

 has been long in cultivation, has the petals red, with 

 white claws ; the Cr. ox. pmnicea, a later variety, has the 

 petals wholly red and larger than those of C. rosea ; Loudon 

 mentions a scarlet Thorn with double flowers, but this we 

 have not seen. The next in beauty is the Cr. ox. multiplex 

 with large double white flowers, which fade or die off 

 deeply tinged with a delicate pink hue. Among the other 

 varieties, the Cr. ox. praccox, or Glastonbury Thorn, which 



