STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE 
unfortunate tree, which suffers from the close embrace that 
stops the free circulation of the sap in its upward ascent 
to the branches. The Climbing Bittersweet is a rapid 
grower, and consequently a bold enemy that takes forcible 
possession of any young sapling which comes within its 
reach; a very Old Man of the Sea that, once fixed, no blast 
of wind can shake off. But while we take the liberty of 
railing at the unconscious intruder, we must not omit to 
dwell upon its good qualities. Its brilliant scarlet arils 
(coverings of the seeds) and orange fruit, that in profusion 
ornament the tree about which it twines, enliven the dull 
woods at a season when bright tints have ceased to charm 
the eye and all the glories of maple, cherry, birch, ash, and 
beech lie mouldering on the ground at our feet. We may 
then look upwards to some slender silver-barked birch or 
gray butternut and admire the gorgeous scarlet festoons that 
hang so gracefully among the naked leafless bratiches. 
The plant, too, is very attractive in its spring verdure. The 
delicate leaves are ovate-oblong, narrowing towards the 
point, finely serrated, alternate; the flowers, in raceme-like 
clusters, are yellowish green, followed by round smooth 
berry-like pods, which deepen, as the summer advances, from 
yellow to orange and from orange to bright scarlet. When 
the seeds are ripe the pod divides and the segments curl back 
and disclose the three-celled, three-valved berry, which has, 
in each cell, one or two hard yellow seeds covered with a 
thin coating of scarlet pulp which is called the aril; this 
is acrid and burning to the taste. The Indians make use 
of the acrid juices of this plant, from the inner bark of the 
root and the bruised berries, to compound an ointment which 
is stimulant and healing for old sores, chilblains, and dis- 
orders of a similar nature. In country places in England 
I have seen the berries of the Black Bryony boiled down 
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