Page 18 - My FlipBook

Ber

Sometimes on the way to school or walking around the edges of

fields, we come across ber bushes. They are thorny, but the little
red fruit with a stone in the centre is worth plucking because it is

very tasty.

There are many different types of bers, some grow on trees with

graceful, drooping branches whereas others grow on bushes.
Some are round and others have a longish shape, but they all

have a wonderful flavour. Ber trees can be about six metres tall
and the bushes are only about one metre high. The ber tree and

the ber bush are both thorny. The trees have longer thorns and

that is why when bers are ripe, people take a long stick with a
sharp knife at the end of it, to cut down ripe bers. Sometimes, if

the branch is shaken hard, the ripe fruit drops down and can be

collected. Ber trees grow in dry places where it does not rain too
much. The leaves are eaten by goats, camels and cattle.

Silkworms also eat the leaves of the ber. Another very interesting

insect called the lac insect lives on the branches of the ber. The
insect sucks the juice and secretes a red substance called lac,

from which paints, varnishes and dyes are made.

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