OCTOBER. 187 



point on 'whicli botanists differ. Some writers 

 think that they are all natives of Asia, and 

 have been naturalized in those spots where we 

 find them growing wild. Dr. Hooker enume- 

 merates five species in his " British Flora." 



The largest of those pretty white flowers, 

 the winter green, or pyrola, may still be ga- 

 thered from beneath the shade of the autumnal 

 wood ; for though these plants begin to bloom 

 as early as July, they are quite vigorous till 

 now. The species which blooms the latest is 

 the round-leaved winter green, {Pyrola rotundi- 

 folia.) It cannot bt said of one of the winter 

 greens that it is a common flower of England, 

 though it is less rare in the north and in 

 Scotland. The round-leaved species has white 

 spreading flowers, and grows on moist copses. 

 It is often found in Yorkshire, and, occasionally, 

 in the Kentish woods. All the plants are 

 exceedingly pretty, and are called winter-green 

 from their unfading foliage. They all possess 

 tonic properties. 



And now, when flowers are few, the mosses 

 attract the attention of the botanist, and are 

 flourishing particularly on moist places. These 

 minute plants are found in damp climates, in all 

 parts of the globe, but are far more numerous 

 in cold and temperate, than in hot regions. 

 They are of little value in medicine, or manu- 

 factures, nor can we use them for domestic 

 purposes. One species, the fir club-moss, 

 {Lycopodium selayo,) is used in the Isleof Skye 

 mstead of alum to fix the colour in dyeing. 



