Wood and covert from seed 85 



in June ; and, as there is no covering or transplanting, 

 it does not much matter if the seeds are sown at night. 

 It must not, however, be thought an altogether hap- 

 hazard business, because the man with the seed bag is 

 supposed to know his plants and the places that are 

 likely to suit them. Furze seed is sold at a low price 

 by all the great seed houses of Europe if bought in any 

 quantity. Other kinds of Furze I have tried in like 

 ways, and find that the tall one known as the Foxbrush 

 {Ulex stridus) does equally well. It is a very rapid 

 grower and a fine, useful aid for the farm, as it faggots 

 more compactly than any other Furze. Much less 

 vigorous than this is the dwarf Furze {U. nanus), which 

 abounds in rough heaths in many parts of the country. 

 It thrives and looks well sown in places where a com- 

 pacter growth is wanted, it is as free and easy as any, 

 and may be sown just in the same way. The dwarf 

 Furze is beautiful in autumn when all the other bushes 

 are losing their charms, and best for low foregrounds 

 and rather bare, sandy, and stony places. 



The Brooms. I never fancied these so much as the 

 Furzes, owing to their scraggy habit (when old) not 

 forming such good covert, though they are beautiful. 

 The best, the Spanish Broom [Spartium jimceum), 

 flowers much later than the others, and is a showy, 

 handsome plant, growing on any gravelly or sandy 

 place, no matter how dry. I saw no place so suitable 

 for this as a railway bank near, so standing on the top 

 of the bank I scattered the seed and let it fall on a steep 

 slope formed of debris and with no soil. The natural 

 soil of the place is about as poor as any on earth — simply 

 shaly rock — and the bank was overrun by rabbits. After 

 some time the Spanish Broom began to show itself. 



