184 WILD FLOWERS. 



quantity of ale, made it of the young heath- 

 shoots. Carrington has some lin6s on this 

 flower — 



"How many a vagrant wing lipht waves around 

 Thy purple bells, Erica ! 'Tis from thee 

 The hermit birds, that love the desert, find 

 Shelter and food. Nor these alone delight 

 In the fresh heath. Tl y gallant mountaineers, 

 Auld Scotia, smile to see it spread immense 

 O'er their uncultured hills ; and at the close 

 Of the keen boreal day, the undaunted race 

 Contented on the rude Erica sink 

 To healing sleep." 



The hng {Calluna vulgaris) is included 

 among the plants which compose the heather ; 

 it is more like a small shrub, and has lighter 

 coloured and smaller flowers than the heaths. 



The strong sweet scent of the wild thyme 

 (Thymus serpyllwri) comes up now to the wan- 

 derer over the moor, and it is one of the sweet- 

 est of wild odours. Among the Greeks, this 

 flower was an emblem of activity. The highest 

 flavoured venison is furnished by the deer 

 which feed on thymy lands, and sheep, too, 

 thrive well on these places. 



The bluebell, or harebell, (Campanula rotun- 

 difolia,) bends its azure drooping blossoms to 

 the winds, on the chalky cliff or barren hill of 

 England, or Scotland, and graces the solitary 

 ridges. Professor Lhidley remarks : — " On the 

 mountains of Switzerland there are species of 

 harebell, with corollas of a pale yellow, spotted 

 with black. On the Alps of India are others 

 of the deepest purple that can be conceived. 

 On the rocks of Madeira Hves one which was, 

 formerly, not uncommon in our gardens, (Mus- 



