The Buckthorn would hardly deserve mention in these pages, except that
it is very generally employed for clipped hedge-rows, in the suburbs of
our cities. It is a native both of Europe and America, though as it is
seen only in grounds which have formerly been cultivated, or near them,
it was probably introduced. It attains the height of a small tree. It is
without any beauty, having a thin foliage that falls early and is never
tinted. Its black shining berries are the only ornament it possesses,
and its only merit is that of patiently enduring the shears of the
gardener.