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Service Berries

These are the fruit of the wild service-tree, very common in the hedges and fields of some parts of England. They are at present little known, but were in considerable use formerly. The country people in some places gather the bunches of berries, and hang them up in the air till they undergo an incipient putrefaction, in which state they possess a peculiar acid, astringent taste, and are considered as having cathartic properties.