302 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART nr. 



high. The steins are upright, and much branched towards the top; smooth, 

 slightly grooved, covered with a whitish or ash-coloured bark, which is yellow 

 within, and they have a large white pith. The main stem soon becomes so 

 surrounded by side suckers as to be concealed by them ; so that, even where 

 the height of the plant is that of a tree, its character is still that of a bush. 

 The blossoms are, in general, abundant, and produce a fine appearance in April 

 and May ; their smell is offensive when near, but not disagreeable at a short 

 distance. The tree will live for two or three centm-ies, without increas- 

 ing much in size. The wood is hard and brittle, of a yellow colour, but little 

 used except for dyeing. The rate of growth, when the plant is young, is rapid ; 

 and, in consequence, in five or six years it will attain the height of 7 ft. or 8 ft. ; 

 but it grows slowly afterwards, unless the suckers are removed from it as they 

 are produced. It is seldom seen above 10 ft. high ; but there ai-e examples 

 of trees of it 30 ft. high, probably of 30 years' growth. 



Geography and History. Found wild in most parts of Europe, and in many 

 parts of Asia and America ; in the warmer parts of those last countries, on 

 mountains; in the colder parts of Europe in plains, as in Norway, near Chris- 

 tiania. The berberry is found on Mount Lebanon, and on Mount Etna ; in 

 which last situation it becomes a low shrub, in the last zone of vegetation, at the 

 height of 7500 French feet above the level of the sea. In England it is found 

 in indigenous woods and hedges, more especially on calcareous soils. It is 

 so common in the hedges of Saffron Walden, in Essex, where corn grows fi"e- 

 quently quite up to the hedge, that Professor Martyn refers to this circumstance, 

 as a proof that the prejudice respecting its originating the mildew on wheat is 

 unfounded. It is indigenous in Scotland and Ireland, but not very common 

 in those countries. The plant is mentioned by Pliny ; and, among moderns, 

 seems first to have been recorded by Bauhin in his Pinax, and subsequently 

 by all the writers on plants, under different names, till the time of Ray, who 

 first called it Berberis ; which name was afterwards adopted by Linnaeus, and 

 by all the botanists since his time. 



Properties and Uses. The inner bark both of the stems and roots affords a 

 yellow dye. The leaves are agreeably acid, and, according to Gerard, were used 

 in his time " to season meat with, and instead of a salad, Uke sorrel." The 

 berries ai-e so acid, that birds seldom touch them. They are not eaten raw, 

 but ai'e excellent when preserved with sugar in syrup, or candied. They are 

 also made into jelly and rob, both of which are not only deUcious to the taste, 

 but extremely wholesome; and they are pickled in vinegar, when green, as a 

 substitute for capers. In some countries in the north of Europe, the berries are 

 used instead of lemon for flavouring punch,&c. ; and when fermented it produces 

 an acid wine, from which tartar is procured by evaporation. They are also in 

 general use for garnishing dishes. Medicmally, the berries, leaves, and roots 

 are powerfully acid and astringent; the bark is pm'gative and tonic; and 

 the berries, when bruised and steeped in water, make a refreshing drink in 

 fevers. The astringent principle is so abundant in the bark, that it is used 

 for tanning leather in Poland ; and it dyes it of a fine yellow at the same 

 time. A decoction of the bark is said to make a good gargle to strengthen 

 the throat and gums. The plant is cultivated in gardens as a fruit tree or 

 fruit shrub ; and the variety, or rather variation, in which the seeds are said 

 to be wanting, and that in which the fruit is sweet, are recommended in pre- 

 ference. The plant makes an excellent hedge ; but there exists a prejudice 

 against it among agriculturists, from its supposed influence in producing 

 blight, or mildew, on the corn adjoining it. This opinion, though totally un- 

 founded, is of unknown antiquity. It appears to have been first considered 

 as an erroneous prejudice by Du Hamel, who assures us that it is totally void 

 of foundation ; and Broussonet and other botanists subsequently proved the 

 fact ; but the most scientific refutation of the error was given by Dr. Greville, 

 in his Scottish Cryptogamic Flora. In that excellent work Dr. Greville has 

 shown that the mildew which attacks the berberry (iEcfdium Berberidis 

 Pers., fg. 47.) is quite different from any of the JF'ungi which are found on 



