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BARBADOES GOOSEBERRY. 
BARBERRY. 
BARBADOES GOOSEBERRY, — botanicaily | box-leaved, the empetrum-leaved, and the un- 
Pereskia. 
American cacti, of the opuntia division. Four 
species, all ranking as evergreen fruiting shrubs, 
have been introduced to British conservatories ; 
and two of these were included in the old genus 
cactus. The species longest and mest generally 
known is called gooseberry in America and blad- 
apple by the Dutch; it has many slender branches, 
which must be supported on stakes or will trail 
on any plants in their vicinity; it has tufts of 
long whitish spines over both stem and branches; 
its leaves are roundish, and very thick and suc- 
culent; and its fruit is about the size of a wal- 
nut, containing a white mucilaginous pulp, and 
having on its exterior tufts of small leaves. All 
the species are propagated from cuttings in sandy 
peat. See the article Cactus. 
BARBADOES LILY. A species of AmMaRYLLIs: 
which see. 
BARBAREHA. See Winter Cress. 
BARBELS or Barzs. Inflamed knots or ex- 
erescences of flesh, in the mouth of the horse or the 
cow. They are formed sometimes during catarrh, 
and more frequently during any inflamed condi- 
tion of the mouth; and they usually accumulate 
under the tongue, and may be fully seen by 
drawing it aside. The method of cure recom- 
mended in old works on farriery, and still prac- 
tised by most cattle doctors, is to cut or burn 
| them away; but this both inflicts very unneces- 
sary pain upon the animal, and incurs a serious 
danger of converting the barbels into severe and 
even gangrenous ulcers. A mere cathartic and 
| a little patience may be sufficient; or if any ten- 
dency to ulceration should appear, an alum wash 
will be enough. Should any abscess be formed 
in consequence of bad treatment, first chloride of 
lime and afterwards an alum wash or an infusion 
of catechu may be applied. 
BARBERRY, or Prpprrrper- Busu,—botani- | 
cally Berberts. A genus of ornamental and fruit 
shrubs, forming the type of the natural order 
berberideze. This order comprises 7 genera; but 
its principal interest is concentrated in the old 
genus berberis, comprising the present genus 
mahonia. Most of the other genera consist of 
low, uninteresting herbaceous plants; yet nan- 
dina, which is one of them, consists of a single 
species of elegant Japanese shrubs. About twenty 
species of the genus berberis, exclusive of varie- 
ties, are cultivated in the gardens of Great Bri- 
tain; and many remarkably fine species in Chili 
and India have not yet been introduced. All the 
species possess both beauty and general interest ; 
and the pinnate-leaved sort, now called Mahonias, 
are particularly elegant. See Manonia. The 
sweet-fruited species, the Canadian species, and 
all the varieties of the commen species are fruit 
shrubs; the emarginate, the holly-leaved, the 
| various leaved, the Asiatic, the awned, Wallich’s, 
the ruscus-leaved, the whitened leaved, the meek, 
and the twiggy species are evergreen shrubs; the 
A genus of West Indian and South ; armed species are evergreen undershrubs; and 
the common, the hawthorn-leaved, the Iberian, 
the Provence, the Daurian, the Chinese, the Cre- 
tan, and the many-flowered species are deciduous 
shrubs. The common species and two or three 
others grow to the height of about 8 feet; but 
most range between 2 and 6 feet. All carry 
yellow flowers; and most bloom in April and 
May. An astringent property resides in the 
bark and stem of most of the genus; and both 
astringency and acidity reside in the berries of 
nearly all. 
The common barberry, Berberis vulgaris, grows 
naturally in the hedges of England, and in most 
other parts of Europe, but is cultivated in gar- 
dens for its fruit. It prefers light and chalky 
soils, and often grows to the height of from 8 to 
10 feet. Many stems rise from one root; their 
bark is white on the outside and yellow on the 
inside; sharp thorns, usually growing in threes, 
arm both the stems and the branches ; the leaves 
are oval, obtuse, and slightly serrated ; the flowers 
are produced, in small bundles, from the wings of 
the leaves, like those of the currant bush; and 
the fruit is oval, and at first green, but afterwards 
a fine red. Six well established varieties, all cul- 
tivated and valued for their fruit, are now to be 
met with in the nurseries, and are designated 
violacea, alba, lutea, purpurea, nigra, asperma, and 
duleis, or violet-fruited, white-fruited, yellow- 
fruited, purple-fruited, black-fruited, seedless, 
and sweet-fruited. Only the first and the second 
of these varieties, however, are indigenous, the 
others having been imported from the continent 
of Europe. The white-fruited variety has whiter 
bark and lighter green leaves than the normal 
variety, but it seldom bears fruit. The seedless 
variety was long supposed by the most eminent 
horticulturists to be only accidental in very old 
plants; but it is now ascertained to be strictly | 
permanent, and to maintain its characteristic in 
young and healthy plants on the most favourable 
soil; and it is sometimes designated the maiden 
barberry. The other varieties are distinguished 
chiefly by the peculiar colour or flavour of their 
fruit. All the varieties may be propagated from 
either suckers or layers. Plants raised from 
suckers are subject to a profuse and annoying 
growth of .new suckers, and are less desirable 
than plants raised from layers. Young shoots of 
one season should be layered at the falling of the 
leaf in autumn; and the plants from them ought, 
exactly a twelvemonth after, to be removed to 
their final situation. The plants, when cultivated 
for fruit, ought to be placed singly, not in hedges ; 
and all their suckers and their gross shoots should 
be pruned out every autumn. The Canadian 
species, which is also cultivated for its fruit, was 
formerly in more reputation than at present: its 
leaves are much broader and shorter than those 
of the common species; and its fruit, when ripe, 
is black. The Chinese and the emarginate spe- 
—— pis j= 
