Rubus

“ The seedlings of this composite Rubus (named Primus) , though a most perfect blend of both parents but resembling neither, never reverted either way; all the seedlings coming much more exactly like the new type than do the seedlings of any ordinary wild rubus. Many thousand plants have been raised generation after generation, all repeating themselves after the new and unique type. No botanist on earth could do otherwise than classify it if found wild as a valid new species, which it truly is, though so summarily produced by crossing. ”

“ When we consider how, as we extend our knowledge of the same plant over a wider area, new geographical varieties commonly present themselves, and then endeavour to imagine the number of forms of the genus Rubus which may now exist, or probably have existed, in Europe and in regions intervening between Europe and Australia, comprehending all which may have flourished in Tertiary and Post-Tertiary periods, we shall perceive how little stress should be laid on arguments founded on the assumed absence of missing links in the flora as it now exists. ”

“ Rubus.—This genus includes the Blackberry and Raspberry, and in a modified form the treatment accorded to them for fruiting is the best to employ with the ornamental Rubi, that is, all old wood that has flowered should be cut away and strong young canes encouraged. But while in the cultivation of the Raspberry only a few young canes are allowed to grow, in the ornamental species practically every young growth should be utilised. The double-flowered Rubi should have some of the old wood left, as they do not make so much young growth as the single ones do. ”

“ SHRUBBY STRAWBERRY. Rubus arcticus.—The fruit of this plant is very similar in appearance to a strawberry: its odour is of the most grateful kind; and its flavour has that delicate mixture of acid and sweet, which is not to be equalled by our best varieties of that fruit.
536. SWEET CICELY. Scandix odorata.—The leaves used to be employed in the kitchen as those of cervil. The green seeds ground small, and used with lettuce or other cold salads, give them an agreeable taste. It also grows in abundance in some parts of Italy, where it is considered as a very useful vegetable. ”

“ And what is true of Rubus villosus is probably true of all plants, though in varying degrees. I do not recall a single article of our annual wild crop—blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries, [Pg 225] cherries, grapes, pig-nuts (a bad name for a good thing) , shagbarks, acorns, and so forth—in which there was not this constant inequality among plants of the same species, perfectly well defined, and never lost sight of by us juvenile connoisseurs. If we failed to find the same true of other vines and bushes, which for our purposes bore blossoms only, the explanation is not far to seek. ”

“ A little shrub only two or three inches tall, forming dense mats. The plant should easily be recognized by its sharply cleft leaves and dense erect racemes of white flowers. Abundant at 5,000 to 6,000 feet elevation. Gorman reports it from near the "Sphinx," 8,500 feet.
Rubus nivalis Douglas.
A trailing vine, with glossy, green, simple leaves. Common in the coniferous forests at 3,000 feet altitude, where it seldom blooms. On exposed rocks and banks one rarely finds its dull red flowers or bright red, raspberry-like, sour fruit. ”

“ This somewhat new form of Rubus is one of the best plants for this kind of planting. It bears freely, and the fruits are much appreciated by many, and its bright canes during winter produce a most pleasing effect. It is a strong grower when planted in good soil at a distance of 5 feet apart. Remove all the old canes during winter. The ordinary garden forms of Raspberry also make fine groups in the unkept parts of the grounds. The old growths should be pruned out each autumn, when the young canes have a warm and pleasing appearance. ”

“ CLOUD-BERRY. Rubus Chamaemorus.—This plant grows wild in some parts of the north of England: the fruit has nearly the shape of the currant, and is reckoned in Norway, where it grows abundantly, a favourite dish.
493. COTTON-THISTLE. Onopordon Acanthium.—The tender stalks of this plant, peeled and boiled, are by some considered good; but it has a peculiar taste which is not agreeable to all.
Bryant in his Flora Diaetetica says that the bottoms of the flowers are eaten as artichokes. ”

“ Of the Rubi, another intricate family, we have but six shrubby species, Rubus idaeus, R. suberectus, R. caesius, R. fructicosus, R. corylifolius, and R. glandulosus, and in determining these, there can be no difficulty, unless we attempt to divide them into the endless varieties dignified by specific names by some German Botanists. For one well defined Bramble, very common in the vales of the Highlands of Scotland and Cumberland, we have but a single locality at present, though I think it must have been overlooked in our sub-alpine vallies, among the Cheviot mountains ”

“ The stem of the plant from which our figure was taken, although the oldest in the kingdom, and near six feet high, is scarce the thickness of a quill at the base, therefore must be supported. The young shoots and leaves are covered with a slight pile; the smaller branches stand out at right angles, proceeding from the insertion of the leaves, and the whole plant has, at first sight, much the appearance of a Rubus. It is propagated by cuttings, made in the month of March, and put under a small bell-glass on the heat of a hot-bed; the cuttings should be from the extreme ends of the young shoots. ”

“ Stem: 6 to 12 inches tall, reddish, slender, with few prickles. Fruits: red, haw-like, in fall and winter. Leaves: pinnately compound, small leaflets 7 to 11, red in autumn or green and tardily deciduous. D (p. 106.)
235. DEWBERRY (Rubus trivialis) abundant trailing “shrub” of woods, roadsides, thickets and ditches. Leaves: compound, 3 to 5 leaflets, rose-like, evergreen or nearly so. Stems: green, prickly, usually lying on the ground, several feet long. Flowers: white, 5 petals, like small single roses. Fruit: black, many-seeded, juicy, ripe April-May, popular with birds, boys and redbugs. ”

“ In Woods, Hedges, and on the Borders of Fields.
462. Rubus corylifolius.
In Hedges near Gateshead, D.
463. Rubus fruticosus.
In Woods and Hedges, frequent.
464. Rubus saxatilis. In Castle Eden Dean; on the Banks of Tees at High Force; in Hown's Wood near Butsfield; and near Egleston and Middleton, D. In Allendale; on the Banks of Irthing; and on the Rocks at Shewing Shields, N.
465. Rubus chamaemorus.
On Knoutberry Fell near Egleston in Teesdale, D. [On Cronkley Fell] In Mosses above Allen Heads, and on Cheviot N.
466. Fragaria vesca.
In Woods and by Hedges. ”

“ The permanent footstalks of the Gum Tragacanth shrub, Astragalus Tragacantha, are hardened into real Spines, as are the flowerstalks in Pisonia, as well as the stipulas of Xanthium spinosum and the Mimosæ.—Linn. Mss.
4. Aculeus, a Prickle, arises from the bark only, and comes off with it, having no connection with the wood, as in Rosa, Rubus (the Bramble Raspberry, &c.) , and Zizyphus, Willd. Sp. Pl. v. 1. 1102.
This is not liable to disappear by culture, being very distinct in nature from the last. ”

“ Common rubber is the prepared juice of a dozen or more shrubs and trees, all of which grow in tropical regions. [37] The belt of rubber-producing plants extends around [Pg 142] the world and includes such well-known species as the fig, the manihot (or manioc) , and the oleander; indeed, it is a condition of sap rather than a definite species of plant that produces rubber, and the latter is a manufactured rather than a natural product. The process of preparing the juice is practically the same in every part of the world. ”

“ Rhubarb, Rheum.—There are several species of rhubarb in cultivation in addition to those commonly grown in gardens. They are much alike in port and in the size of their leaves, R. palmatum and Emodi being the most distinct. The rhubarbs are fine things for association with large–leaved herbaceous plants in deep soils.
Rose, Rosa.—As in the case of brambles, we have many more kinds of wild roses in England than is commonly supposed, but of course nobody ever thinks of planting such things in gardens or shrubberies, where such gems as privet [156] usually make up the underwood. ”

“ The author of A Brief Guide to the Celestial Ruby speaks thus of the agent—"It is our doorkeeper, our balm, our honey, oil, urine, maydew, mother, egg, secret furnace, oven, true fire, venomous dragon, Theriac, ardent wine, Green Lion, Bird of Hermes, Goose of Hermogenes, two-edged sword in the hand of the Cherub that guards the Tree of Life.... It is our true secret vessel, and the Garden of the Sages in which our sun rises and sets. It is our Royal Mineral, our triumphant vegetable Saturnia, and the magic rod of Hermes, by means of which he assumes any shape he likes." ”

“ Rubber is the coagulated sap of more than 300 varieties of tropical trees and vines—the Landolphia of Africa, the Ficus of the Malay Peninsula, the Guayule shrub of Mexico and the Castilloa of South America, Central America and Southern Mexico are all important rubber producers, but far more important than all of the others together is the Hevea, a native of Brazil. ”

“ Uses—A decoction of the seeds (1 p. to 70 p. of water) is employed in India as a cooling, demulcent drink. The seeds powdered and mixed with sugar, or made gelatinous with water, are sometimes given in chronic diarrhœa.
POLYGONACEÆ. RADIX RHEI. Rhubarb; F. Rhubarbe; G. Rhabarber.
Botanical Origin—No competent observer, as far as we know, has ever ascertained as an eye-witness the species of Rheum which affords the commercial rhubarb. Rheum officinale, from which it seems, at least partly, derived is the only species yielding a rootstock which agrees with the drug. ”

“ The red-bud, the dog-wood, the crab-apple, the wild plum, the cherry, the wild rose, are abundant in all the rich lands; and the grape-vine, though its blossom is unseen, fills the air with fragrance. The variety of the wild fruit and flowering shrubs is so great, and such the profusion of the blossoms with which they are bowed down, that the eye is regaled almost to satiety. ”

“ All, except one of these, are herbs, but in the tropics the Rubiaceæ are nearly all shrubs or trees. Among those are the coffee, quinine, and ipecac. All the family have opposite leaves (a few verticillate) and stipules, regular flowers, with stamens as many as the corolla lobes, and alternate with them. The fruits are a drupe, berry, or capsule. Over 340 genera and 6,000 species are known almost throughout the earth. ”

“ Groups of botanists, chemists and arboriculturists study constantly tree diseases, methods of increasing the yield, and the other problems of growing fine trees that will produce high grade rubber. Here, by experiment and inspection, the secrets of the rubber tree are being brought to light, so much so that growers look to this plantation for leadership in methods of rubber culture. This great project so far from American soil and in a field so new gives a thrill of pride to the Americans visiting Sumatra on their way around the world. ”

“ By good luck the people of South America, Central America, Asia, and Africa, where the varieties of india-rubber, or caoutchouc, producing trees are found, have learned to tap the trees and take care of them and do not kill them for a single harvest. The rubber is the hardened juice of the tree; when it first runs out it is like milk or cream, and hardens very quickly. ”

“ Wild flowers grow all around: and every spot of ground that will produce them is covered in the summer season with the tempting little red strawberry, or the wild raspberry, or the blushing rose. Above all, still keep peering, in solemn and interminable array, the vast monarchs of the wood, the stately and elegant silver-firs. ”

“ A rich brown pigment.
Rubiate. A name for Liquid Madder Lake (q.v.) .
Rubicelle. An orange-coloured stone, a variety of the spinel ruby.
Rubrica, R. Red ochre; and thence rubric, an edict or ordinance of the Civil Law written in red ochre, while the ordinances and rules of the prætors were written in black on a white ground on the Album (q.v.) .
Ruby, in Christian art. (See Red.)
Ruby or Red Sapphire. A corundum, the most valuable of all gems; when perfect and large, exceeding even the diamond in value. The colour varies from the lightest rose tint to the deepest carmine. ”

“ RED ILLUSIONS UNDER GLASS Life as green illusion - the cool fronds of the fern are deep set in firmest soil and the grassy narrows brook a silent, liquid play. Red illusions under glass - quietly picking strawberries where a woman hums to the buzz of flies with the afternoon sun disappearing overhead. Each grasp of the berry a red stain, the darting of seeds, crimson tendrils do confuse the eye with a polka dot starling raucous in glee above. ”

“ In these luxuriant years the plants grew as thick as sedges and bulrushes in their beds, and were taller than usual, attaining a height of about ten feet. The wonder was to see a plant which throws out leaves as large as those of the rhubarb, with its stems so close together as to be almost touching. Standing among the thistles in the growing season one could in a sense hear them growing, as the huge leaves freed themselves with a jerk from a cramped position, producing a crackling sound. ”

“ The ruby, although as a natal stone it belongs to December, is the gem of summer. It is born in the hot climates,—the pigeon’s-blood ruby in Burma, the pomegranate-red in Ceylon, and the more garnet-hued type in Siam,—these three equatorial countries produce the ruby. Those of large size are always rare, and this is the gem which Job valued more highly than any other, although “garnet” may perhaps be a better rendering. It is on an equal plane in hardness, in composition, in crystalline structure, and in every way, with the sapphire. ”