New Britain herald., 1918-03-15


 b,lcus~sxfxssgirea,p IT MX MX s n lsls's, a.n instrument ,caYle1 SaMbucA was made in part or in4whole, from the wood of the~aeisfer. There are two species~of Sambucus 1 indigenous to Great Britain. South > etn Europe has three, China one, ana l North America two. Our common l elder is g. Canadensis. It is only q l shrub in the north, while in south l Florida it is a tree having a. trunk fourteen or more inches in diameter. It is a showy shrub we'll known from it's numerous fiat cymes of white flowers that appear in June along hedge rows and overtop the wild weeds and bushes on the borders or fields The wfIiee flowers are suc- ceeded in August by heavy black pwrgIe, crimso h. juiced berries It IS vxs4sl worthy of cultivation as an or rzRmentaI plant on account or the besxwty of its flowers and berries and in fact it is cultivated in our clty There is a. long row of 1t near one house that is quite showy and lends anaattractive .ap pearance to the place Tzae other American species, the Caswny elder, s. Pubeus, has handsome flowers of a greenfsh or purplish uhsta. in thryse like spikes, followed by scarlet berries, fully ripe in Au- gnSt at the time $. Canadensls IS i'm flower. Instead of growing Tn fence rows, it grows on hilly and rocky land and for this reason IS sometimes called the mountain elder The name elder is. applied to few other plants, the poison sumach the ash leaved maple, and the Br1Stly Sarsaparilla but no common name other than elder is applied to the mcnus Sambucus in the United States.
 Children generally know the com mon elder not only on acconnt of the beauty of it's flowers and fruit, but also for the utility of the flowers, fruit and wood, the latter being so we'll adapted to the many wants or the ordinary boy. The names by which children know the plants and flowers is always interesting and often orig inaI. Our common yellow pond lilies, Nuphar Advena, are by the little ones sometimes called Gold Watches.
 The late Mrs Annie Trumbull Sios- son. out of curiosity as to what strange names they might have, ire o,tently inquired of children the names of various plants In one of her. stories it is related that she sank,e.aassxed&some~ children (who were gatherfnges taae<S white flowers of the conranoaAr eldeK,) the name of the GowAxss they ,%had; when to her sur prsse they answered 'Sambucus." rrhan she inquired, ''How did you learn thafas 1t ' is Sambucus?" They repaiad, ~OsaG>father~ told us the name ssrdMsaid that we could remember it if wes1moslld only think that NIT. Sam Rucus. the elder has white head"
 FKry,c xlS SAxas~4 If s{I p.lt lt- ais, @~ver1+ closely resembles our com mon eaxler. Both have black berries sraea we refer~9to the cokor by the . e~*@-bIaek- berKied.' while fhesc Bratonsp refer to ii by the scien- .tSicEnaxne, aS.x NgTa. 1t IS also found }inx ossser-r parts of, Europe, them north ,<sgstAfrica- Western Asia, thesCSxxpcasus ax1eS1 Southern Siberia The. eadernzwas wells known to the ancients& for its .rsaecai cknaIs properties aaHd5@inf sEHaland t11s.s bark Sayvassformerly administered faS~a,H Tyss~gatlye and &emeOc- Ans%rn- fusion birth rhesbruisedS1eaues" is used ,hvy esaxssenerseto repel insects from plants One~1writer, off 1772~sadVased that. cabbage turnipS, wheat and fruit trees be whipped Wathsttwlgs of xo1lng elder in order to preserve them from caterpillars, flies and blight By village herbalfsts the Ieaxyes are, employ edzin making "olnt- ment ApothecaEaes also employ el- der leaves to impart a arrgreen color to fat and oil in making" unguentum Sambuel fokioxum and soteum VHide. The. opening buds of the tenderIeaVes were formerly used as Q salad. Thomas Fuller wrote for his work en- tsFed "The Holy State," C16f2) a< fellows. Kettles are put in pottaSe and. ssalhats, are made of eIdeT11-bnds
 The flowers of the elder are care fully gathered and dried TOT 1ileul" ctnal purposes. They contain@a ~voia- tile oil and serve for the diStnlauon of elder flower water, aqua sambucl- used in confectionery, perfumes ant lotions It is a gentle Stimulant. El der-blow tea is made from an in fusion of the flowers and is a harm less and efficient means for-epromot ing perspiration. 1t is also used Ta' a lotion for beautifying the compleX- ion and also for an eye wash.
 E.lderberries are used to a limited extent for making pies, jams ant lelIies. while the juice of the berries is largely used and much esteemed for making eiderberry wine. to which a little spirit is generally added Fl
 degborriess furnish a common adul
 teyant or pert wine and some clam that they improve the color anC flavor. Sir Tom Brown, for his ''Vul
 gar Errors,' 1S46, wrote the follow