36 



SYLVAN SKETCHES. 



jrards. This is ascribed to the aptness of the Barberry 

 to afford a lodgment for the growth of a small species of 

 mildew fungus, which, according to Sir Joseph Banks 

 and others, may be transferred to the corn ; but this is 

 certainly an erroneous notion, for the two plants are of 

 very different structure, and of different genera ; the one 

 being the RcEstelia berberidis, and the other the Ustilago 

 segetum, of Gray's " Natural Arrangement of British 

 Plants." Some who say they have made experiments are 

 convinced of the truth of this observation; others are 

 incredulous; and a third party, in their zeal against 

 modern innovations, as they term them, although totally 

 ignorant of the subject, are ready to exclaim, " Mallem 

 cum Banksio vel Smithio errare quam cum ahis recte 

 sentire — " I had rather be in the wrong along with 

 Banks or Smith than in the right with their opponents."" 



The Barberry is a native of most parts of Europe, in 

 woods, coppices, and hedges. In England, it is found 

 chiefly in a chalky soil. The flowers appear in May, and 

 the berries ripen in September. 



The other species are mostly of lower growth than the 

 Common Barberry : the box-leaved kind is rather tender 

 while young. The wood of the holly-leaved Barberry, 

 Berberis ilicifdtia, is, on account of its great elasticity, 

 used by the inhabitants of Terra del Fuego for bows. 



This plant most admirably illustrates the irritabihty 

 that some vegetables are possessed of, and which may al- 

 most be said to come near to voluntary motion of animals ; 

 for if the base of the tliread which supports the anther 

 be irritated by a straw, by an electric shock, or by the 

 focus of a burning glass, the anther mil be raised up by 

 a sudden jerk, so as to touch the end of the style in the 

 centre of the flower ; this effect appears to take place 



