192 THE GORSE CROP. 



purposes. A variety of machines have been introduced 

 for effecting this, so that now the question is merely one 

 of cost for the extra labour required in its preparation. 



Ulex nanus Divarf Gorse resembles the foregoing in 

 its botanical characters, the only difference being that 

 this species flowers in the autumn, and is indeed frequently 

 termed the Autumn- flowering gorse. It offers no advan- 

 tages over the former, save that it will grow on even a 

 poorer class of soils and at higher elevations, and therefore 

 would furnish a supply of food or of fuel under conditions 

 of soil and climate in which the Common gorse could not 

 be cultivated. It is readily distinguished from it by the 

 later period of its flowering, by its generally smaller and 

 more delicate structure, and by its reclining habit. It rarely 

 grows higher than 3 or 4 feet, whereas the U. europceus, 

 under favourable circumstances, will attain a height of 

 10 to 12 feet. 



Ulex strictus Irish Gorse differs materially from 

 either of the foregoing, in being of a much more erect and 

 compact habit of growth, and in its spines and shoots 

 being so soft and tender that cattle of any kind can eat 

 them without their undergoing any preparatory operation 

 of crushing or bruising. One great objection to its exten- 

 sive cultivation is the necessity of propagation by cuttings, 

 as the plant rarely flowers, and is thus not capable of sup- 

 plying seeds for the purpose of reproduction. Where, how- 

 ever, it is desirable to grow gorse for feeding purposes, it 

 will fully repay the extra attention and labour required 

 to strike the cuttings, and transplant them to their intended 

 place. If planted in a well-prepared bed of light sandy char- 

 acter, shaded from too much sun and light at the back of 

 a wail, for instance any time during the month of August, 

 they will strike readily, and in the following spring and 

 summer send out roots, and be quite ready for planting 

 out either in the autumn or the following spring, as 



