176 LEGUMINOS^ 



being popularly considered as cures for that malady. Many animals eat the 

 young tops as food, and its seeds afford a good store for the birds. In 

 autumn, when these are quite ripe, we hear their pods crackling, as they 

 open to discharge their contents, sometimes making a loud report, and 

 mingling with the gentle waving of the trees, and the singing of birds, the 

 sounds seem sweet and musical to the wanderer on the heath, over 



' ' Moors where hares abound, 

 While throbbing Furzes heart-struck burst their pods, 

 Scattering ripe seeds amidst the moss around." 



The plant is on some spots much entangled with the pink threads of the 

 parasitic dodder, which form an entangling mass about its branches. 



The French call the Furze Ajonc or Jonc marin, the latter name alluding 

 to its growth near the sea, for the ])ush thrives well on cliffs, or other rocky 

 soils, visited by the sea-breeze. It has been found in Devonshire with 

 double blossoms, the variety of which is now so generally cultivated for the 

 sake of its gorgeous masses of golden blossoms. It is the only papilionaceous 

 plant which is known to have double flowers. The variety called Irish 

 Whin is also a frequent shrub in gardens and nurseries. Our Furze is 

 Der Em-opilische Sfechginster in G-ermany, and it is the Heyhrem of the Dutch. 



2. Dwarf Furze {Ulcx nanus). — Calyx downy, with the hairs lying 

 close to the surface ; bracts small ; wings about as long as the keel. Plant 

 perennial. This species, Avhich is altogether smaller than the other, begins 

 to flower in July, and rem.ains in blossom till November or December. It 

 has much of the general aspect of the Common Whin, though essentially 

 different from it, its chief characteristics being its minute and scarcely 

 perceptible bracts, and its shorter and more spreading wings. It differs also 

 in not throwing its seeds out of the pod immediately upon ripening, as they 

 remain closed on the shrub long after being fully matured. This species is 

 from one to three feet high, and grows on many English and Irish heaths, 

 especially in mountainous districts, and on some few Scottish lands. 



2. Green-weed (Genista). 



1. W^oad-waxen, Dyer's-whin, Dyer's-weed, or Green-weed 



{G. tinddria). — Stems and branches without thorns ; leaves narrow, acute, 

 nearly smooth ; flowers in clusters ; legumes flattened, smooth. Plant 

 perennial. This low shrub is frequent in pastures, thickets, and field-borders 

 of England, especially where the soil is of clay, but it is rare in Scotland and 

 Ireland. It is about one or two feet high, its leaves of very dark but rich 

 green hue, and its pale yellow flowers, which expand during July and August, 

 are on short stalks. The milk of cows feeding on this plant is said to acquire 

 a bitter flavour, rendering the butter and cheese made from it very un- 

 palatable. A decoction of the seeds was formerly used medicinally, and the 

 ashes of the burnt twigs are considered a valuable rem^edy in some diseases. 

 The latter medicine is prized in the Ukraine as a cure for canine madness, 

 but its reputation for this malady cannot be regarded as established. Both 

 the English and Latin names of the plant refer to its use by dyers, for its 

 young tops have long been employed to give a yellow colour to yarn. Mr. 



