29-2 
unwelcome to see our native hawthorn and holly sup¬ 
planted even by this pretty foreigner, which we have 
hitherto only been accustomed to observe trained against 
houses or walls as an ornamental covering. 
The pyracantha puts forth its bunches of delicate 
white flowers in May, and may claim admiration even 
then, when the garden is in its glory; but it is when the 
fascinations of spring, and summer, and autumn are over 
that it is most attractive. Greeting us, when there is little 
else to cheer, with its verdant foliage and beautiful scar¬ 
let clusters, it reminds us of some friend, who, though 
always kind and ready to serve us, reserves his tenderest 
and warmest affection for the hour of adversity. In 
co mm on with all other trees whose fruit ripens in the 
winter, it affords the birds a most timely supply of sus¬ 
tenance, and thus, — 
M For every song that made their summer merry, 
The shrubs repay in winter with a berry.” 
The beauty of its aspect in that dreary season, and the 
associations to which it gives rise, are alluded to in the 
following lines, which were presented to a beloved friend 
on her birthday in December. 
