OF THE CHIEF WINTER BERRIED TREES 

 AND SHRUBS 



Holly and mistletoe are no longer the only berries in 

 vogue during winter. Everyone wishes more, not only 

 for cutting, but glowing upon trees '' when gloomy winter 

 has put forth his squalid countenance." However, by 

 the end of the calendar autumn, often indeed many 

 weeks before that end, a great number of the year's 

 attractive fruits have disappeared, owing to natural 

 decay, and also to birds. Berries that they pass by are 

 often those most easily injured by frost ; thus winter 

 fruited plants are scarce. In small gardens it may be 

 worth while to feed birds to save the berries. This 

 way is not always effective. 



The Fire-thorn 



(^Crataegus Pyracanthd) is mostly seen trained to a 

 sunny wall, a site that offers it protection and 

 induces fertility. Plant carefully in March and Sep- 

 tember : they are best procured in pots. Sometimes, 

 notwithstanding pruning of roots and stem, and the 

 fact that the plants occupy sunny walls, little or no 

 fruit is produced. In such cases it may be assumed 

 that the plant is a worthless seedling, for this fire-thorn, 

 like the pear and every other fruit, varies in productive- 

 ness when seed-raised. It is a wise plan to procure 

 plants grafted on the quince, the scions being taken 

 from well fruited plants. The branches of the shrub 



