226 ROSACEA 



masses of its beautiful leaves, shining and silvery with the silky down which 

 is always to be seen on the under surface in profusion, and which often covers 

 both sides, seem scarcely to need the adornment of the large yellow velvety 

 flowers which, in June and Jul}^, stand on short stalks among them. Few 

 plants lose less of their beauty in drying for the Herbarium than this, and 

 little bouquets of the blossoms and foliage, arranged on paper, will retain 

 their beauty for years, and often serve as mementos of friendship, or help 

 to carry away the thoughts to some pleasant spot whence the flower was 

 gathered : — 



" The precious things of heaven — the dew 



That on the turf beneath it trembled, 

 The distant landscape's tender blue, 



The twilight of the woods that threw 



Their solemn shadows where it grew, 

 Are at its potent call assembled. 



" And while that simple plant for mo 



Brings all these varied charms together, 

 I hear the murmurs of the bee, 

 Tlie splendour of the skies I see 

 And breatlie those airs that wander free 

 O'er banks of thyme and blooming heather." 



The silvery foliage is so much relished by geese, that the plant is often called 

 Goose-grass ; it is occasionally boiled for the cottage meal. The roots are 

 eagerly eaten by swine. They are somewhat like parsnips in their sweet 

 flavour, though smaller, and paler in colour; and are much relished by 

 children, who roast them over the fire ; while the Scottish housewife some- 

 times boils them for the family dinner. They contain a good amount of 

 nutriment, and in times of scarcity the people of the islands of Tiray and 

 Col have used them for bread, and have been supported for months together 

 almost entirely on this food. 



2. Shrubby Cinquefoil {P. fruticosa). — Leaves pinnate ; leaflets mostly 

 5, oblong, acute, entire, hairy, with margins rolled under ; stem shrubby. 

 Plant perennial. This is a rare species, growing among bushes in the rocky 

 parts of Cumberland, Yorkshire, and other northern counties, as well as at 

 Clare and Galway in Ireland. Its stem is three or four feet high, its large 

 yellow flowers growing several together at the end of the stems, and 

 expanding in July and August. 



3. Strawberry-flowered Cinquefoil (P. nipMris). — Stem erect, forked ; 

 leaves pinnate ; leaflets egg-shaped, their bases wedge-shaped, serrated, and 

 hairy, from 5 to 7 on the lower leaves, and 3 on the uppermost. Plant 

 perennial. This very rare species bears large white flowers in May and 

 June, and has a stem one or two feet high. Its only recorded British habitat 

 is Craig Breidden, Montgomeryshire. 



* * Leaves digitate. 



4. Hoary Cinquefoil (P. argMea). — Stem prostrate, or ascending; 

 leaves quinate ; leaflets wedge-shaped, cut, white, and downy beneath, their 

 margins rolled. Plant perennial. Though not a very common species, this 

 is found on many roadsides and pastures, where the soil is of gravel. Its 



