200 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BH1TANNICUM. 



a ] . CTLEX EUROPJE'A L. The European, or common, Furze, or Whin. 



Identification. Lin. Spec., 1045. var. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 144. ; Don's Mill , 2. p. 14?. 



Synoni/mes. Genista spindsa L'Obel ; U. grandiflbra Pour. ; U. vernalis Thure \ Whin, Gorse, 



Prickly Broome ; Ajonc common, Jonc marin, Jomarin, or Genet epineux, Fr. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot ., t. 742. ; and our figs. 299. and 300. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves lanceolate, linear. Branchlets villous. Bracteas 

 ovate, loose. Calyx pubescent. An erect compact bush, evergreen, from 

 the colour of the bark. Middle and South of Europe, on gravelly soils ; 

 and in Britain on hills. Height 2 ft. to 5 ft. ; in sheltered woods, 10ft. 

 Flowers rich yellow ; February to May, and in mild winters September 

 to May. Pod brown ; ripe in August. 



Varieties. 



* U. e. "Zflore pleno has double flowers, and is a splendid plant when 

 profusely covered with blossoms, well adapted for small gardens, and 

 easily increased by cuttings. 



U. provincidlis and U. stricta are probably only varieties of U. eu- 

 ropae'a, but, as they may possibly belong to U. nana, we have kept them 

 distinct, and treated them as botanical species or races. 

 The common furze, in Caernarvonshire, grows 

 to the height of 1500 ft. above the sea, in open, 

 airy, warm situations ; but in damp shaded valleys, 

 not higher than 600ft. 

 In the North of Eng- 

 land, according to Winch, 

 it forms fine fox covers 

 at 800 or 900 feet ; and 

 grows, in warm sheltered 

 situations, at 2000 ft. 

 At Inverness, it is found 

 to the height of 1 150 ft. 

 About Tongue, in the 

 north-west of Suther- 

 land, where it was in- 



ITMex enropoe'a. , , . . 300. U ler europee'a. 



troduced, but is now 

 naturalised, it scarcely attains 350 ft. of elevation. The young branches, 

 bruised, and given to cattle and horses in a green state, are found highly 

 nutritive as fodder; and for this purpose the variety U. (e.) stricta is pre- 

 ferable, on account of the absence of prickles. The use of furze for hedges 

 is chiefly desirable in situations where the hawthorn or the holly will not 

 thrive; because the furze is not a plant of long duration. As a shelter to 

 young trees, it is sometimes sown where acorns, beech masts, or chestnuts are 

 to be sown, or young trees are to be planted. The use of furze in a dead 

 state is chiefly as fuel for bakers' ovens, for brick, tile, and lime kilns, and for 

 lighting fires. In Scotland, it is sometimes used in kilns for drying oats. 

 In England, a common use of it is to weave into the sides of hovels for 

 sheltering cattle, to prevent them from rubbing against them. In gardens, 

 the points of the shoots are chopped into pieces of about 1 in. in length, and 

 dropped into the drills in which peas are sown, before the seeds are covered ; 

 and, the earth being drawn over them and trod down, they are found effectu- 

 ally to resist the attacks of mice and small birds. In France, the chopped 

 branches are mixed with cow-dung, and the mixture afterwards formed into 

 bricks, which are dried in the sun, and used as fuel. The seeds, if they could 

 be procured in sufficient quantity, would, if ground into flower, form a nutri- 

 tive food both for cattle and swine : they retain their vital property for several 

 years. In Britany, large heaps are formed of alternate layers of turf and 

 dried furze branches; and, the whole being set fire to, the ashes are preserved 

 as manure. In many parts of both France and England, the ashes of dry 

 furze branches are used as a lye for washing linen. A pound of seeds, which, 

 in London, costs from 8d. to 1*., will sow an acre broad-cast, or a drill of a 



