DOGWOOD. 



447 



be superior to that of the laburnum, being 

 close grained, hard, and finely veined, and 

 liighly valued by the turner. Being of a very 

 incorruptible nature, it is also valuable for posts, 

 rails, and gates, many of which, made of this 

 wood, have remained fresh for nearly a century. 

 Its delicate, finely-shaped, pinnated leaves, and 

 white, pendulous, odorous flowers, also recom- 

 mend it as an ornamental shrub. It thrives best 

 in a deep sandy soil, and sheltered situation, and 

 throws up suckers abundantly from the roots, 

 thus adapting it for coppice wood. It is also 

 recommended as possessing superior qualities to 

 the oak for ship-building; but its comparative 

 scarcity has hitherto prevented its extensive use 

 in this department. 



Dogwood (cornus). Natural family capri- 

 folix; tetrandria,monoffyma,oiJArm!eus. There 

 are ten or eleven species of this family, all char- 

 acterised by the hardness of their wood. The 

 larger kinds are very ornamental and hardy 

 shrubs, not only from the beauty of the flowers, 

 and the gay colour of the berries, but also from 

 the diversified colours of their barks and young 

 shoots, which have a lively efffect, especially in 

 winter, among other more monotonous shrub- 

 bery. The great-flowered, c. florida, an American 

 species, is thus described bj' Michaux : — The 

 dogwood sometimes reaches thirty to thirty-five 

 feet in height, and nine or ten inches in diame- 

 ter; but it does not usually reach more than 

 eighteen or twenty feet. The trunk is strong, 

 and is covered with a blackish bark, chopped 

 into many small portions, which are often in the 

 shape of squares more or less exact. The branches 

 are pi'oportionally less numerous than on other 

 |rees, and are regularly disposed nearly in the 

 form of crosses. The young twigs incline up- 

 wards in a semicircular direction. The leaves 

 are opposite, about three inches in length, oval, 

 of a dark green above, and whitish beneath. 

 The upper surface is very distinctly sulcated. 

 Towards the close of summer they are often 

 marked with black spots; and at the approach 

 of winter they change to a dull red. The flowers 

 are full blown about the middle of May, before 

 the leaves have yet unfolded themselves. The 

 flowers are small, yellowish, and collected in 

 Ijunches, which are suiTOunded with a very large 

 involucre, composed of four white floral leaves, 

 sometimes inclining to violet. This constitutes 

 all the beauty of the flowers, which are very 

 numerous; and which in their season robe the 

 tree in white, lik« a fuU blown apple tree, and 

 render it one of the fairest ornaments of the 

 American forest. The berries are of a vivid 

 glossy red, of an oval shape, and always united. 

 They remain upon the trees till the first frosts, 

 when, notwithstanding their bitterness, they are 

 devom-ed by the robin, or migratory thrush, 

 which about this period arrives from the northern 



regions. The wood is hard, compact, heavy, and 

 fine grained, and is susceptible of a brilliant 

 polish. The alburnum is perfectly white, and 

 the heart is of a chocolate colour. This tree is 

 not lai'ge enough for works which require pieces 

 of considerable volume; it is used for the handles 

 of light tools, and agricultural. implements, cogs 

 of mill wheels, and other purposes. Jhe inner 

 bark is extremely bitter, and has been used in 

 agues : it will also make a good ink, in the pro- 

 portion of half an ounce of the bark to two 

 scruples of sulphate of iron; and the same quan- 

 tity of gum Arabic mixed with sixteen ounces 

 of rain water. 



This species grows and blossoms, but does not 

 bear berries in Britain. 



The Common Cornel Cherry (cornus mascula), 

 blossoms early in this country, and bears hand- 

 some berries, which were formerly made into 

 tarts, and formed the rob de cornis. The wood 

 is very hard, and is celebrated by Virgil as a 

 materialfor warlike weapons, "5oKa bello cornus." 

 The common and blue-berried cornels have 

 red twigs, and are used as ornamental shrubs. 

 The wood of both is hard and useful, and an oil 

 may be extracted from the berries. The wood 

 of the common dogwood makes a very superior 

 charcoal, used in the manufacture of the finest 

 kinds of gunpowder. 



The dwarf species, (suecica) is common in the 

 highlands of Scotland, and other alpine regions; 

 and its berries are esteemed tonic and stomachic. 



'LA.T/ics,wooTi(gualtheria virgata) . Natural family 

 annonacece ; polyandria, polygynia, of Linnaeus. 

 This tree is a native of Jamaica; and though of 

 moderate size, is one of the most useful and valu- 

 able in the island. It possesses in a high degree 

 the qualities of toughness and elasticity, and is, 

 on this account, extremely well adapted for the 

 shafts of light carriages, and aU those uses where 

 light, strong, but elastic timber is required. Ash 

 of the very best qualities is found to be inferior 

 to this wood, both in strength and elasticity; 

 while the ash is open in the grain, whereas the 

 other is close and compact. 



The leaves are ovate, acuminate, very smooth, 

 with very short footstalks. The blossoms are 

 pedunculate, axUlary, and single-flowered. 



Hawthokn (cratmgus). Natural family rosa- 

 cece J icosandria, di-pentagynia, of Linnseus. 

 This is a family of hard- wooded trees, both use- 

 ful and ornamental. The common hawthorn, 

 c. oxycantha, or sharp spined, is the best hedge 

 plant in Europe; and some of its varieties are 

 also very beautiful and ornamental, when in full 

 blossom. The flowers appear in May; hence the 

 popular name of May or May blossom. One 

 variety, the Glastonbury thorn, to which the 

 monks of the dark ages attached a popular legend, 

 flowers in January or February, and in favour- 

 able seasons and situations, as early as Christmas. 



