160 Gambles witb Mature Stubents 



be of interest to my readers, when they pay a visit to 

 any museum of antiquities and sculpture, to endeavour 

 to trace the many ways in which these beautiful 

 leaves have been used for decorative purposes. 



BROOM-RAPE (Orobanche speciosa) 



About one hundred species of these parasitic plants 

 appear to be known. Strange uncanny growths, 

 deriving their nourishment as they do from the roots 

 of other plants, we may fairly regard them as the 

 thieves and vagabonds of the vegetable kingdom. 

 It is not difficult to find certain of our English 

 species. 



The lesser broom-rape grows abundantly in clover 

 fields and on gravelly heaths ; the tall brownish 

 spikes of the OrobancJie major can readily be dis- 

 covered growing on various plants, such as broom, 

 furze and other species which bear pea-shaped flowers. 



Some seeds of broom-rape from Southern Europe 

 having been sent to my gardener, he tried the 

 experiment of sowing them in such a manner that 

 I might watch their growth from their early stages 

 on to maturity. Some broad beans were sown, 

 destined to be the victims of the parasite, and when 

 they had germinated the seeds of the broom-rape 

 were carefully introduced below the surface of the 

 soil. In due time there appeared about a dozen 

 spikes of the OrobancJie, clustering round the broad 

 bean plant, which was then two feet high and already 

 bearing pods. 



The seeds of the parasite must have germinated 

 and in some mysterious way discovered the presence 

 of the roots upon which it was their nature to grow. 



