238 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



it had the sanction of Jeremy Taylor, can scarcely be 

 recommended, as such a covering, unless very closely 

 watched, would soon become a mass of untidiness. But 

 if we cannot admit our wild bramble into our gardens, 

 we may Avell admit it when it puts on variegated leaves. 

 This it does in many different ways, and such brambles 

 make beautiful bushes, which are easily kept in order ; 

 and there are two beautiful forms with double flowers, 

 white and pink, which are exactly like branches of small 

 roses, and flower in the autumn. 



The family of the bramble is a large one, containing 

 more than a hundred well-defined species, with a large 

 number of varieties, being found in nearly all extra- 

 tropical countries, though chiefly found in the northern 

 hemisphere, and stretching from the extreme north in 

 the Arctic Circle to the Falkland Islands in the south. 

 Of these there are four distinct species in Great Britain, 

 with many varieties of the common bramble ; and it is 

 my belief that of the whole number there is not one 

 that is not beautiful either in foliage or flower or fruit. 

 I will name a few which I should not willingly lose 

 from my garden. 



I think the finest of all is the Nutka Sound bramble 

 (E. Nutkanus), with large leaves, and large, pure white 

 flowers, looking like a fine single rose, and remaining 

 in blossom a long time. (I need scarcely say that the 



