30 FAMILIAR TREES 
berry tree, but blacker, and not so long but rather rounder, the 
flowers are white comming forth at the joynts with the leaves which 
turne into small round berries, greene at the first, and red after- 
wards, but blackish when they are thorough ripe, divided as it were 
into two parts, wherein is contained two small round and flat 
seedes: the roote runneth not deepe into the ground, but 
spreadeth rather under the upper crust of the earth.” 
At the present day, owing to the violence and 
uncertainty of its action, medical practitioners have 
quite discarded Syrup of Buckthorn, its place having 
been taken during the last quarter of a century by 
preparations of the so-called Cascara Sagrada, or 
“Sacred Bark,” the inner bark of Rhamnus Pur- 
shia'nus D.C., a native of the Pacific slope of North 
America, more especially Oregon. 
To the non-botanical observer it may well at first 
be puzzling to understand the association of our two 
British Buckthorns in one genus. With the same 
general geographical distribution, extending into 
Siberia and Northern Africa, and alike rare in Ire- 
land and absent in the north of Scotland, they grow 
in very different situations. The true Buckthorn, 
R. catharticus, that is, occurs chiefly upon chalk and 
other limestones, whilst the Alder Buckthorn, 
R. Franguia, prefers clay or wet alluvial soils. 
Though they are of approximately the same size, 
whilst the Buckthorn is a stiff much-branched shrub, 
giving off its spine-terminated branches in almost 
opposite pairs, the Alder Buckthorn has a far looser 
habit of growth, with slender branches, given off 
singly and destitute of spines. The dark, pointed 
buds of the Common Buckthorn are erect and 
pressed against the stem in almost opposite pairs, 
