44 EESEDACE2E. 



paint called Dutch pink is made from it. Linnaeus observed 

 that its spikes always followed the course of the sun. Although 

 it produces Dutch pink, yet the common colour of the dye 

 formed from it is yellow. This specimen grew in a limestone 

 quarry near Richmond, and I have often seen it in similar 

 situations. It blooms in August. 



The second member of the family, the Wild Mignonette 

 (R. liitea), I brought from sandbanks in the bed of the Skell, 

 near Ripon, in Yorkshire. It is more spreading in its growth, 

 and its flowers are buff-coloured. 



The third species is very rare (R. fructiculosa), the Shrubby 

 Dyer's Rocket. Its broader spikes and straw-coloured flowers 

 give it a close resemblance to the garden favourite, the fragrant 

 Egyptian Mignonette (R. odorata) ; but it lacks its scent entirely. 

 My specimen came from Mr. Ward's botanic garden. 



The family of the Cistus, or Rock Rose, succeeds that of the 

 Rockets. These plants have five sepals, two external and 

 prominent and three more concealed ; five petals, very tender 

 and easily falling off; and many stamens. They are generally 

 shrubby plants with woody stems. 



The common Cistus grows abundantly on rocky places 

 throughout the kingdom ; and its clear yellow wide-spread 

 blooms are agreeably familiar to us all. (Cistus helianthemum, 

 Plate IV., Jig. 2). The white Cistus I have never seen but 

 in the neighbourhood of Clevedon, where it grows upon the 

 grassy cliffs (C. polifolium). The Dwarf Cistus has much 

 smaller flowers, of a pale yellow colour. It grows on the hills 

 between Yorkshire and Westmoreland. Of the Spotted Cistus 

 and Ledum-leaved species I have got no specimens. Gum 

 ladanum is the resin of the Gum Cistus : it used to be col- 

 lected in a very curious way. Goats were turned among the 

 Cistus bushes to browse ; they nibbled the branches, and the 

 resin adhered to their beards and hardened there. It was 

 then picked off for purposes of commerce. These bushes are 

 still cultivated in Cyprus, but the resin is gathered with rakes. 



