ON THE CULTUKli OF BtlTTEllWORT. 9^9 



di'aiu freely through ; over this lay a compost of peat and light 

 loain chopped together ; the surface should then be covered with 

 moss; the white bog-moss (Sphagimm) answers the best, but if 

 that cannot be procured, some of the common feather-mosses 

 (H}i)erum) will sen'e, and the plants inserted, taking care to keep 

 a little moss about each of them in order to retain the moisture. 

 The tap should then be closed and water gently poured in till it 

 rises above the surAice of the soil. The best time for planting is 

 March or April ; the plants will have taken to the soil in a day or 

 two, and will flower vigorously in May and June following. 



In hot weather it will be necessary to keep the water even with 

 or a little above the surface of the soil, as the leaves are apt to 

 shrivel ; but in long-continued rains the tap should be left open, 

 so as to allow all the wet to drain ofl', to prevent the rotting of the 

 roots. This should likewise be done throughout the Winter. The 

 ti'ough should be so placed as to receive as much sun as possible. '• 



The Butterwort grows in bogs in many parts of England, and 

 is found within a few miles of Sheffield, near Ringing Lowe, and 

 various other parts of the East Moor ; it is also found plentifully 

 opposite the Pig Tor, in the dale through which the Wye nuis 

 between Taddington and Buxton. If the seeds be gathered and 

 sonni in the artificial bog before mentioned, they will soon germi- 

 nate and produce flowering i)lants the next season. The cotyledon 

 or seed-leaf of the Butterwort, (which is solitary) is very small, 

 but is an interesting object in the microscope, the whole surface 

 being covered with minute transparent globules of a clear ii(|uid, 

 as shcuii in the cngi'aving. 



A 



There nre several other British bog-]ilants which are in general 

 (iiund in llic same situations as the Butterwort, and which thrive 

 erjually well with the same treatment, among which may be men- 

 tioned the foUowiiig : — Lanciuthire Asj)hodcl, Narlheciuni ossifrd- 

 mun ; Crauberry, Oxyc6ccuR vulgdris ; Cotton-grass, Eriophorinu 



