THE HAWTHORN. 



211 



single nut : but in the neighbourhood of Barnet 

 and Hadley, in Hertfordshire^ I have observed 

 that they more frequently contain two. 



The pink and double varieties of Hawthorn 

 are multiplied by grafting and buddings but the 

 common sort is generally raised from seed. The 

 haws are gathered in winter and laid in a heap, 

 mixed with a sufficient quantity of soil to cover 

 them and separate them from each other, and 

 exposed to the influence of the weather, until 

 the spring of the second, or even the third en- 

 suing year. Unless this plan is adopted, the 

 young plants do not appear till the year after 

 they are sown, and consequently occasion the 

 loss of the ground for that time. Various expe- 

 riments have been tried with the seed, in the 

 hope of finding some method of securing their 

 growth in the year following that of their being 

 gathered, but none have succeeded. The extreme 

 hardness and durability of the shell is the pro- 

 bable cause of this sluggishness of growth. Could 

 any plan be devised for breaking the shell without 

 injuring the kernel, it is not unlikely that the 

 desired object would be effected. 



I have already spoken of the claims of the 

 Hawthorn to picturesque beauty. Whether they 

 are' allowed or not, there can be no doubt that not 

 only the several varieties of the British tree, but 

 many foreign species, are eminently ornamental 

 to the lawn a*nd shrubbery. 



In husbandry, the principal use of the Quick- 

 thorn is for making hedges, for which purpose 

 very many thousands are annually raised in 

 Britain, an employment which forms an impor- 

 tant branch of the business of nursery-men. 



