NAT. ORDER. DUMOSEiE. 
41 
plant may be easily identified when soug-ht after for medical pm-poses, 
I have represented it both in flower and fmit ; but while in the latter 
condition, it should be chosen for medical use." 
This is " one of the most beautiful ornaments of the swamps of 
our country, in the autumn and winter, — the Winter-berry. The ele- 
g-ant color of the berries, ag'g-regated in numbers of two or three on the 
small branches of the shrub, tog'ether with their multitude, afford a 
pleasing- contrast to the fading- veg-etation. The generic name Prmos, 
is of very ancient orig-in, having- been used by Theophrastus and Dios- 
corides ; and it is supposed to be derived from a Greek verb, sig-nify- 
ing or meaning to saw, and to have been applied to this genus by Lin- 
naeus, on account of the strong serratures of the leaves in some of the 
species." 
Prinos ver'ticillatus, is a shrub of from eight to ten feet in height, 
found growing in and near swamps, on the borders of rivulets and 
ditches, and in damp woods with moist bottom, every where from 
Canada to Georgia. It flowers in the month of June, and at this time 
it has a very ordinary appearance ; but when its berries are fully ripe, 
which is in the last of October and beginning of November, it is strik- 
ingly beautiful. At these periods the leaves remain on, but even after 
they have fallen, the appearance of the shrub from its multitude of rich 
crimson, and sometimes scarlet berries, is exceedingly handsome. 
Prinos glab7~a, Ever-green, Winter-berry. This species is closely 
allied to the former, and its foliage remaining of a beautiful green all 
through the winter. Its leaves are alternate, petioled, oblong of a firm 
texture, smooth, acute ; there are commonly two serratures towards 
the tip ; the peduncles axillary small, and generally three-flowered. — 
It is of lower growth than the preceding ; the leaves are shorter and 
serrate at their points only. It is a native of Canada, flowering in 
July and August. 
Propagation and Culture. In these plants it is effected by seeds, 
sown soon after they are ripe, or early in the spring, upon a bed of 
light earth, covering them about half an inch with the same sort of 
