68 FLORA DOMESTICA. 



Browne alludes to the use of Broom in thatching : 



" Among the flags below^ there stands his coate, 

 A simple one, thatched o'er with reed and brooin ; 

 It hath a kitchen, and a several room 

 For each of us." 



Britannia's Pastorals. 



A Russian poet speaks of the Broom as a tree : 



" See there upon the broom-tree's bough 

 The young grey eagle flapping now." 



Bowring's Russian Anthology. 



The blossom of the Common Broom closely resembles 

 that of the Furze, both in form and colour — that Furze 

 which sheds such a lustre over our heaths and commons, 

 and at sight of which, it is said, Dillenius fell into a perfect 

 ecstacy. In many parts of Germany the Furze-bush is un- 

 known. Gerarde says, that about Dantzic, Brunswick, 

 and in Poland, there was not a sprig of either Furze or 

 Broom ; and it is really a striking sight to come suddenly 

 upon a common, glowing, as it were, in one great sea of 

 gold. Gerarde adds, that, in compliance with earnest 

 and repeated entreaties, he sent seeds to these places, 

 and that the plants raised from them were curiously kept 

 in the finest gardens. Furze bears various names in dif- 

 ferent parts of England : Furze in the south. Whin in the 

 east, and Gorse in the north. 



" The prickly gorse, that, shapeless and deformed. 

 And dangerous to the touch, has yet its bloom. 

 And decks itself with ornaments of gold." 



Cowper's Task. 



" Or from yon swelling downs, where sweet air stirs 



Blue harebells hghtly, and where prickly furze 



Buds lavish gold." 



Keats's Endymion. 



