M FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



berries, again, of the elder or privet, we forbear, in tbe pre- 

 sence of so much beauty, in our attempt aut Casar, aut 

 nullus to give the blackthorn the priority. Suffice it, then, 

 to say that the blackthorn, whether seen in the early spring, 

 when it is one mass of pure white blossom, or in the 

 autumn, when its branches are laden with its clusters of 

 purple fruit, is a beautiful object, and one that cannot fail 

 to be very familiar to all dwellers in the country. 



The flowers of the blackthorn appear before the leaves, 

 so that we see nothing but the countless blossoms, and as 

 these appear early in the year, and in great profusion, the 

 tree is a very noticeable feature in the hedgerow ; the fall 

 of the petals rivals the falling snow that is not uncom- 

 monly contemporaneous. It will often be noticed that we 

 get a spell of sharp weather and cutting winds as the 

 blackthorn is flowering, and this period is in many parts of 

 the country known as blackthorn winter. We have in 

 autumn seen the ground beneath the bushes quite purpled 

 over from the fallen fruit, the 



" Sloes austere, 

 Hard fare, but such as boyish appetite disdains not." 



As boys are practically omnivorous, the fact of their eating 

 the fruit must not be considered a proof of its esculent value. 

 As a matter of fact the berries are excessively austere 

 and astringent, and few persons who have cut their wisdom 

 teeth will be found willing to enter on a second experiment 

 of their quality. Cottagers sometimes gather them and 

 make a kind of preserve of them, but it cannot be a very 

 economical preparation, as the amount of sugar required 

 must be enormous ; and they also make a kind of wine of 

 them winter-pick wine, as it is ordinarily called. It is 



