34 PURPLE SANDWORT. 



larity wliich prevails in the places of their 

 growth, and in the offices for which they are 

 designed ! 



One species, as before mentioned, has the 

 peculiar power of resisting the deleterious 

 effects of the metallic oxides which usually 

 pervade the refuse heaps that are thrown out 

 of old lead mines, and is found in situations 

 usually destructive to vegetable life, where 

 no other plant may grow, and which every 

 winged or creeping thing would otherwise 

 instinctively avoid.* There it may be seen, 

 occasionally, in solitary patches, though less 

 luxuriant than on the lofty heights of 

 Snowdon or Craig Lochart, and, by means 

 of its peculiar properties, some small insects 

 are sustained, and joyous creatures find a 

 store-house and a home beneath the shelter 



* Mr. Winch remarked this plant on the Wcerdale 

 and Teesdale Moors, at an elevation of one thousand 

 to two thousand feet, and particularly on the rubbish of 

 old lead mines. 



