WILD FRUITS WORTHY OF SOilE ATTENTION. 285 



dry climates where the currant fails, and, as stated, it is 

 ornamental as well as useful for its fruit. 



275. The Barberry. — Several of the species and varieties 

 of the barberry have long been used in Europe, Asia, and 

 to some extent in America for combined use for ornamental 

 planting, hedges, and varied uses of the fruit. The jelly 

 and marmalade made from the heavy crops of fruit are 

 preferred in Europe and Asia for dessert use to that of the 

 currant, and they are extensively used in sick-rooms and 

 hospitals as a cooling anti-febrile food for patients. A 

 seedless variety is also used in Europe for stewing, which 

 is preferred by many to the currant, and it is claimed that 

 its acid is very similar to the lemon in its physiological 

 effects on the system. Eor combined use, as a hedge- 

 plant or screen and for jelly-making and marmalade, the 

 Amur species {Berieris Amurensis) is best for the North- 

 west and over a large part of the country. So far as 

 observed, this species is free from the attacks of the 

 cluster-cup fungus. This species also seems to reproduce 

 itself from the seed, which is not true of many recognized 

 species, which we have found to give many extreme varia- 

 tions of the seedlings. In Southern climates the large- 

 leaved species from Japan, known as Berheris Bealii, will 

 prove valuable for ornament and fruit. This is classed 

 with the Mahonias, but its seedlings seem to class it as a 

 hybrid. For low ornamental hedges requiring little prun- 

 ing, and as single specimens on the lawn, Berberis Thun- 

 bergia has no superior, but its brilliant red fruits have not 

 enough acid for jelly or marmalade. 



It is propagated usually from suckers that spring up 

 around the crown for neighborhood use. If the shoots are 

 well twisted (53) it can also be propagated by spring 

 layering. But the Amurensis and Thunbergia species will 

 vary little when grown from seed, which germinates readily 



