THE HOBBLE-BUSH.
Why so elegant a plant as this species should bear the disagreeable name of Hobble-Bush is apparent only when we become entangled by walking over a bed of it. I have seen it frequently in Maine, where it is called Moosewood, but seldom in Massachusetts. It is never entirely erect; its principal branches spread upon the ground, while the smaller ones that bear the leaves and fruit are erect. The leaves are very large, some lobed and others heart-shaped or nearly oval. Notwithstanding its procumbent growth, it is not a homely shrub. The numerous small and erect branches that spring from the creeping boughs resemble a bed of dense low shrubbery. And when we see it in an old, dark-shaded wood, crimsoned by the tinting of autumn, and full of bright scarlet fruit, we cannot but admire it.