138 



PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



bright yellow fruit, of the same size and flavor as the red. 

 Both grow and fruit freely in our Northern States. Another 

 variety has variegated leaves. The above and many other 

 varieties and species are cultivated in nurseries, descriptions of 

 which can be found in nurserymen's catalogues. 



c R AT G US . — Ha will 0 r n, 



A genus of small trees or shrubs, about a dozen species indi- 

 genous to the United States, all bearing small, white flowers in 

 spring and early summer. Wood hard, resembling that of the 

 common apple tree, but seldom large enough to be serviceable, 

 except for handles for small tools and similar purposes. The 

 early settlers in our Eastern States thought they had found in 

 our native hawthorns a plant equal, or superior to the English 

 hawthorn for hedges, and while they are in every respect 

 equal if not superior to the exotic species for such purposes, 

 they have so many insect enemies in this country, that hedges 

 made of them are liable to be destroyed before or soon after 

 reaching a useful size. The common apple tree borers attack 

 the hawthorns, and when set in close hedges the destruction of 

 these insects, hidden as they are, in the stems and branches, is 

 imx3racticable, if not entirely impossible. For this reason, and 

 this only, the hawthorns are not to be recommended for hedges, 

 especially in our Northern States, where several different species 

 of what are commonly termed apple-tree borers abound. The 

 hawthorns are mostly thorny, with simple or lobed leaves. A 

 few of the species are evergreens. Seeds of the hawthorns are 

 very hard, and do not usually germinate until the second sea- 

 son after planting. The best way to manage these seeds is to 

 mix them in sand or soil, after the pulp is removed, and then 

 bury them on the north side of some building, or in a shady 

 place, and leave them undisturbed until the opening of the 

 second year after gathering, then take out and sow in drills. 

 The seed should not be allowed to get very dry before being put 

 into the sand. 



Cratsegns aestivalis, Torr. and Gray.— Summer Hawthorn.— Leaves 

 spatulate or wedge-obovate, somewhat rough, crenate above 

 the middle. Flowers solitary, or only three to five in a cluster. 

 Fruit large, round, red, of a mild acid flavor. Ripe in summer. 

 A small tree, but sometimes more than thirty feet high. From 

 Virginia southward in the pine-barrens, and along the margin 

 of streams and ponds. 



