more especially in the northern countries. It is found in Iceland, Greenland, and Kamtschatka, and in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In Britain, it flourishes best in the upland and moorland zones; but it descends to the sea level in the south of England. In the north, and on the Grampian Mountains, it grows at the height of 3000 ft. above the level of the sea. In deciduous copse-woods, it commonly gives place to Vaccinium Mýrtillus; but in open pine groves it maintains its ground. It covers extensive tracts in France and Germany, and it is common in all the temperate parts of the Russian empire, and probably, also, in Siberian Russia.

History. As some species of heath were known to the Greeks and Romans, it is not improbable that they were acquainted with the Callùna, though it is not included specifically in the plants of Theophrastus. It is mentioned by all the modern European writers on plants, and more especially by those of the northern parts of Europe, as its numerous names in northern languages imply. It is described by Gerard, who says that it is "the heath that the ancients took to be the right and true heath;" but he does not state his grounds for this assertion.

Properties and Uses. There are few plants, that are abundant in a state of nature, which man has not applied to a great variety of useful purposes. The most important use of the heath, throughout Europe, is as an herbage plant. In the Highlands of Scotland, in the north of Sweden, and in all heathy countries with an imperfect agriculture, cattle and sheep browse on the young shoots in the winter and spring, when they can procure no other food. It is true, these shoots are powerfully astringent, and not very nutritive; and they even affect the milk of cows not accustomed to eat them, and turn it red; but, nevertheless, they are valuable for keeping the animals alive till the season of pasture grass returns. According to some French agricultural writers, the mutton of sheep fed upon heath, or upon pastures in which the heath abounds, is of a richer flavour, and more nourishing, than that which is fed on grass only; and the wool of such sheep is said to be produced in larger quantities. Heath is used, both in Scotland and Sweden, for thatching houses, for heating ovens, for making besoms, scrubbing-brushes, and baskets; for weaving into fences, for covering underground drains, and for a great variety of rural purposes. In the Western Highlands, Dr. Walker informs us, it is twisted into ropes; and the walls of the cabins of the inhabitants of that bleak coast are formed with alternate layers of heath, and a sort of cement made of black earth and straw. The Highlanders there not only employ it in the walls of their houses, and for covering them instead of thatch, but they make their beds of it; and this was the case, in 1804, and may still be so, in the summer dwellings, called sheelings, on the Grampian Mountains, at no great distance from Perth. The walls of these summer lodgings are built of turf; and on the floor of the apartment, about 3 ft. from the wall, and parallel to it, a fence made of stakes, and twined with long heath, partitions off a space for sleeping in; and no other bedding is put into this space than a thick layer of heath. In most of the Western Isles, the inhabitants, in Pennant's time, dyed their yarn yellow by boiling it in water with the green tops and flowers of this plant: and woollen cloth boiled in alum water, and afterwards in a strong decoction of the tops, comes out of a fine orange colour. In some of these islands, leather is tanned in a strong decoction of heath. Formerly the young tops are said to have been used alone, to brew a kind of ale; and Boethius relates that this liquor was much used by the Picts. In some of the Western Isles, it is said, they still brew ale with one part malt, and two parts of the young tops of heath, sometimes adding hops. The flowers of heath of every kind abound in honey; and those of this and the other indigenous species are much frequented by bees. various parts of Scotland and the north of England, bee-hives are carried, in the beginning of August, from the cultivated to the heathy districts, for the sake of the flowers; where they remain two or three months, and are brought back in the autumn. The wood makes excellent charcoal; and the ashes are rich in potass, which accounts for the diuretic properties of the plants. The

In

honey produced from the flowers of heath, and, indeed, from the Vaccinium, the Azalea, and the whole of the Ericàceæ, is of a dark brown colour, and has a particular flavour, which, to some persons, is disagreeable, but to others is preferable to that of the low country honey. Medicinally, the shoots of the heath are considered diuretic and astringent; and, in Pliny's time, a decoction of the leaves of some species was considered a remedy for the bites of serpents: but the Calluna, at present, is not included in any materia medica. The branches of the heath afford shelter to many birds, and the seeds constitute a principal part of the food of the grouse, and other inhabitants of the moors. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the peculiar construction of the seed-vessel, with which, Sir J. E. Smith informs us, Gærtner was so much struck (see Gen. Char., p. 1076. and p. 1077.), is calculated to retain the seed in it a whole year. The foliage of the heath, in England, affords nourishment to the larva of the Phalæ'na quércus, or the great egger moth. In England, it is also very liable to be encumbered by the smaller dodder (Cuscuta Epithymum); but neither of these enemies to the plant is common in Scotland. The principal use of the Callùna, in British gardens, is as an ornamental plant; and, in sandy or mossy soils, as an edging instead of box. In several gardens about Edinburgh, it is employed in this way; and is found not only to endure clipping as well, or better, than the box; but by forming a more compact edging, it is less apt to harbour snails and slugs. The most effectual mode of destroying heath, where it abounds on soil not worth subjecting to the plough, is to plant it with evergreen trees, such as the Scotch pine; which, when they have grown to a sufficient height to cover the surface, will effectually destroy it by their shade, and thus convert the plants into nourishment for the trees. When heathy ground has been subjected to the plough, it should never be kept in pasture for many years together, unless it is richly manured; for, as the seeds retain their vitality for many years, plants never fail, at the end of a few seasons, to make their appearance among the grass. In the improvement of heath soils, lime is always a principal ingredient; it being found necessary to neutralise the tannin and acid principles which exist in the mould formed by the decay of the heath.

Poetical Allusions, &c. This well-known plant, which covers so many acres of land, particularly in the north of England and Scotland, with its evergreen leaves and beautiful flowers, has been a favourite subject with many British poets, from Burns, whose

"Moorcock springs,

On whirring wings,
Amid the blooming heather,"

to Mary Howitt, who gives a fine picture of

"those wastes of heath,

Stretching for miles to lure the bee;
Where the wild bird, on pinions strong,
Wheels round and pours his piping song,
And timid creatures wander free."

The heath is considered the emblem of solitude; but, from its frequent use as beds in the Highlands, its sweet and refreshing smell rather recalls ideas of social enjoyments and wild though hearty hospitality.

App. I. List of hardy Species and Varieties of Ericacea belonging to the Group Ericeæ normales, of which Plants are cultivated for Sale in the Tooting Nursery; with some additional Names from the "Hortus Woburnensis," marked *.

The Price of the greater number of sorts in this List is 1s. each, but a few of them are 1s. 6d. each.

Callúna vulgàris (Erìca L.) Eng. Bot., 1013. Height 1 ft. to 2 ft., Fl. red, June to August.

6 coccínea Roll.. Fl. scarlet.
7 compácta Lodd. Fl. red

14 variegata Roll. Fl. red.
15 umbellata Roll. Fl. red.

Erica Acta a Roll. Ht. 2 ft., Fl. May and June.

arborea L., Fl. Græc., t. 45., Ht. 9 ft., Fl. white, Feb. to June. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836, 5 ft. high as a standard, and 16 ft. high against a wall.

2 stylòsa Andr. Ht. 5 ft. or 6 ft., Fl. white, Feb. to June.

3 squarròsa Bot. Mag., t. 1139. Ht. 5 ft. or 6 ft., Fl. white, February to June.

arctàta (codonòdes Bot. Reg., t. 1698.), our fig. 866. in p. 1081. Ht. 12 ft., Fl. pale rose, Feb. to June.

austràlis Andr. Heath., v. 3. Ht. 10 ft. or 12 ft., Fl. red, April to August. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836, 10 ft. high as a standard.

2 supérba Roll. Ht. 10 ft.,

Fl. pale red.

ciliàris Bot. Mag., t. 484. Ht. I ft., Fl. pink, July to September. cinèrea Eng. Bot., t. 1015. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. purple, June to September.

1 álba Roll. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. white,
June to Sep.

2 atropurpurea Lodd. Bot. Cab.,
t. 1490. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. dark pur-
ple, June to Sep.

3 atrosanguínea Roll. Ht. 1 ft.,

Fl. dark red, June to Sep.

4 cárnea Roll.

5 carnéscens Lodd.

6 coccinea Lodd.

7 monstrosa Roll.

8 pállida Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 1505. 9 prolífera Lodd.

10 rùbra Roll.

11 stricta Lodd.

ramulòsa Viv. (stricta Don). Ht. 2 ft., Fl. pink, June to July.

2 rùbra Hook. Brit. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. red, June to July.

scopària W., Lin. Eric., No. 14. f. fl. Ht. 4 ft. or 5 ft., Fl. green, April

to May.

2 minima H. Wob.

stricta Andr. Heath., v. 2. Ht. 2 ft., Fl. pink, Aug. to Nov.

Tétralix Eng. Bot., t. 1014.

1 álba Roll. Fl. white.

2 cárnea Roll. Fl. flesh-cld.

3 pállida Lodd. Fl. pale.

4* rùbra H. Wob. Fl. red.

5 Mackaiana Bab., Fl. Hib., p. 191. Fl. white.

víridi-purpùrea Roll., Lin. Eric., No. 9. ic. Ht. 3 ft., Fl. green, May to August.

Gypsocállis (Erica carnea Lin.) cárnea Bot. Mag., t. 11.; and our fig. 1083. in p. 872. Ht. & ft., Fl. pale pink, January to August.

2 præ cox M'Nab (? herbàcea Hort.,Hayne, t. 47., and Bot. Mag., t. 471.) Fl. pink.

mediterranea Bot. Mag., t. 471. Ht. 4 ft., Fl. pink, March to May.

2 hibérnica Roll., Hook. in Supp. to Eng. Bot., t. 274., and Fl. Hib., p. 181.

multiflora Andr. Heath. v. 2. Ht. 2 ft., Fl. flesh-coloured, June to November.

2 álba Hort. Brit. Fl. white.

umbellata Bot. Cab., t. 1217. Ht. 3 ft., Fl. purple, May to June.

vàgans Eng. Bot., v. t. 3. Ht. 1 ft. Fl., red, July to August.

1 álba Roll. Fl. white.
2 pállida Roll. Fl. pale.
3* rùbra H. Wob. Fl. red.
4 tenélla Roll. Fl. white.

5 rubéscens Bree, Hort. Brit., ed. 2. Fl. blush-coloured.

6 purpurascens Roll. Fl. pale purple.

App. II. Arrangement of the hardy Heaths included in the preceding List; showing which of them are in Flower, in the open Garden, every Month in the Year; and the Colour of the Flower, and Height of each.

App. III. List of Cape Heaths which will stand in the open Air, in Autumn, or the Middle of Winter, without Protection, with Fahrenheit's Thermometer 7 or 8 Degrees below Freezing, without suffering in any way from such a Degree of Cold.

Taken from Mr. M'Nab's Treatise on Cape Heaths, published in 1832. The Prices appended by Messrs. Rollisson in 1836. Callista acuminàta (Erìca L.) Bot. Cab., t. 216.; and our fig. 873. Ht. 14 ft., Fl. red, July to Oct. Price ls. 6d. 2 pállida Hort. Brit. Ht. I ft., Fl. pale red, June to July.

comòsa Hort. Kew. Icon., t. 18.

to Aug. Price 2s. 6d.
2 álba Andr. Heath., v. t. 2. Ht.
August.

Ht. ft., Fl. red, Ap.

ft., Fl. red, June to

3 rùbra Wendl. Eric., xii. p. 7. ic. Ht. ft., Fl. red,
June to August.

ferruginea Andr. Heath., v. t. 3. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. red, May
to July. Pr. 7s. 6d.

hyacinthoides Andr. Heath., v. t. 3. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. pink,
June to Aug. Pr. 2s. 6d. In the Edinburgh Botanic
Garden, in 1836, 2 ft. high.

tenuiflòra Andr. Heath., v. t. 3. Ht. 14 ft., Fl. light yel-
low. Ap. to June. Pr. 2s. 6d.

2 álba Hort. Brit. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. white, Ap. to June.
3* lùtea. Fl. yellow.

873

Ht. 14 ft., Fl. light

tetragona (pugionifòlia Sal.) Andr. Heath., v. t. 3.
yellow, July to Sep. Pr. 2s. 6d. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden,
in 1836, 3 ft. high.

ventricòsa Bot. Mag., t. 350. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. flesh-cld., April to Sep-
In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836, 2 ft.

tember. Pr. 2s. 6d.

4 cárnea. Fl. flesh.

5 álba. Fl. white.

6 supérba. Fl. scarlet.

Ceràmia (Erica L.) serpyllifòlia Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 744.; and our fig. 874.

Ht. 1 ft., Fl. white, June to July. Pr. 2s. 6d.

Dasyánthes (Erica L.) Sparmánni Andr. Heath., v. t. 3. (díspera A. H., hystriciflora L. T.) Ht. 1 ft., Fl. dark orange, March to Sept. Pr. 2s. 6d. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836, 5 ft. high. Désmia (Erìca L.) conférta Andr. Heath., v. t. 2.; and our fig. 875. IIt. 14 ft., Fl. white, Feb. to Oct. Pr. 2s. 6d.

Erica aggregata Wendl. Eric., f. purple, July. Pr. ls. 6d. 3 ft. high.

2 álba Hort. Brit. Fl. white.

13. No. 5.; and our fig. 876. Ht. ft., Fl. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836,

campanulata Andr. Heath., v. t. 1. Ht. 1 ft., Fl. yellow, April to August. Pr. 2s. 6d. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, in 1836, 2 ft. high.