226 CLASS OCTANDRIA. 



contain an agreeable acid. The flowers are white, having a 

 4 toothed calyx, and corolla 4 parted. It is found in swamps 

 in various parts of North America. 



The Ladies'-ear-drop (Fuschsia), (See Fig. 112), is a beau- 

 tiful exotic. It has a funnel-form calyx, of a brilliant red 

 colour ; the petals are almost concealed by the calyx ; they are 

 purple, and rolled round the stamens, which are long, extend- 

 ing themselves beyond the coloured calyx. This plant is a 

 native of tyexico and South America, except one species 

 brought from the Island of New Zealand. Ten species are said 

 by horticulturists to be cultivated, but some of them are pro- 

 bably rather varieties than distinct species. 



The heath* (Erica), which contains many hundred species, 

 is not known to be indigenous to this country ; fifty species are 

 said to have been introduced. The common heath has bell- 

 form flowers, small and delicate, with the colour pink or vary- 

 ing into other colours ; the flowers intermixed with the delicate 

 green of its leaves produce a fine effect. The kind of soil 

 necessary to the growth of the heath, is peat earth ; this is 

 very common in Engjahd and Scotland, in which countries this 

 plant abounds. The branches are used in England for heating 

 ovens and making brooms. In the Highlands of Scotland, the 

 poor make use of it to thatch the roofs of their cottages, and 

 their beds are also made of it. The field in which this plant 

 grows is termed a heath or heather. 



" The Erica here, 



That o'er the Caledonian hills sublime, 

 Spreads its dark mantle, where the Bees delight 

 To seek their purest Honey, flourishes ; 

 Sometimes with bells like Amethysts, and then 

 Paler, and shaded, like the maiden's cheek 

 With gradual blushes ; other while, as white 

 As frost that hangs upon the wintry spray." 



The Daphne is a rare plant ; one species is called the Lace- 

 bark tree, from the resemblance of its inner bark or liber to 

 net-work or lace. This bark is very beautiful, consisting of 

 layers which may be pulled out into fine white web, three or 

 four feet wide ; this is sometimes used for ladies' dresses and 

 may even be washed without injury. Charles I. of England, 

 was presented by the governor of Jamaica with a cravat made 

 of this web. The plant is a native of the West Indies. 



The Nasturtion (TropO3olum), is a very commonly cultiva- 

 ted exotic. It has not a regularity of parts ; the divisions of 

 the corolla and calyx are not four or eight, which we might 



* The term heath is said to have originated from an old Saxon word, alluding 

 to the heat which the plant affords as fuel. 



Ladies' Ear drop Heath Lace bark tree Nasturtion. 



