After the white petals and the stamens have fallen off, the swollen flower stalk enlarges and becomes an oval berry (3), considerably larger than that of the Rowan. At first the berries are covered with white down, but soon that wears off, and you see that the berries are smooth and are a rich red colour. They are not good to eat, these attractive-looking berries, though people say they are pleasant when over-ripe and ready to decay. But the birds love them, and so do hedgehogs and squirrels.
In France the people plant a great many Whitebeams. This is because the small birds require the berries for food in the winter, when there are no longer grubs and insects to be found. These grubs and insects destroy the vines and corn when they are young and tender in early spring, and the small birds are needed because they eat these pests, and so save the young plants.
The wood of the Whitebeam is not much used, though small objects, such as wooden spoons, knife handles, and combs, are made of it. It is very hard, and will take a high polish.
PLATE XXVI
THE ROWAN OR MOUNTAIN ASH
“Their spells were vain, the boy returned
To the Queen in sorrowful mood,
Crying that witches have no power
Where there is Roan tree wood.”
—Old Song.
The Rowan tree is closely related to the roses, and is a cousin of the Hawthorn, the Apple, and the Pear. It is not related in any way to the Ash, but the leaves have some resemblance, because, like the Ash tree leaves, they are made up of many pairs of small leaflets growing opposite each other on each side of a centre stalk, and with an odd leaflet at the end. But the leaflets of the Ash tree have each a stalk; those in the Rowan have none, and in the Ash tree each large feathery leaf is planted exactly opposite its neighbour, while in the Rowan the leaves grow alternately. The name Mountain Ash is a mistake.