204 



THE HAWTHORN. 



which may be added Pyracantha, are the names 

 by which the Greeks are supposed to have desig- 



HAWTHORN BLOSSOM. 



nated the tree. By the Romans it appears to have 

 been called Spina, Its French name, Auhe- 

 epine, refers to its flowering early in the spring, 

 or morning, of the year ; auhe signifying " the 

 dawn of day." With us it is known indifferently 

 by the names, May-tree, May-bush, from its 

 season of flowering, and from the important place 

 which it held in the old May games ; Quickthorn, 

 Quickset, and simply Quick, from its application 

 to the construction of quick, or live hedges, in- 

 stead of dead branches of trees ; and Whitethorn, 

 from the profusion of its white flowers. By 

 some botanists it is placed in the same genus with 

 Mespilus the Medlar, with which it has many 

 botanical characters in common. 



