Its Noticeable Beauty.—Its Attainable Height.—Its Floral and Fruit Productiveness.—Its Foliage Described.—The Non-distinctive Difference of European and American Varieties.—Its Range of Growth. — Soil and Situation Suitable to its Thrift.—Use of its Fruit.— The Papaw.—Its Stunted Growth.—Its Floral and Fruit-bearing Properties.— Its Limited Latitude of Growth.—Properties of its Wood and Fruit.

This tree is only worthy of notice on account of its beauty. It reaches the height of thirty or forty feet; its flowers are white and are produced in long panicles; its leaves are from two to three inches m length, of a beautiful oval shape, and smooth on both sides. The fruit is about one eighth of an inch in diameter, red in an immature state, and of a dark purple when fully ripe, and is covered with a bloom. Of this fruit the largest tree rarely yields more than half a pound. It greatly troubles most people to distinguish the European and American varieties from each other, as they have so many points in common; so much so, that many people class them together and make no distinction whatever. The June-berry, with the exception of the maritime parts of the United States, is spread all over the northern half of the Western Continent, from Georgia to Hudson's Bay. It multiplies very rapidly on the fertile banks of streams and in swampy ground, although it sometimes occurs in dry, rocky places, but then is never of vigorous growth and is rather sickly. Its fruit is used for food in North America.