WINIiEI) BRUOM. 107 



;uul the name ilesfcndcd lionouralily for the most part until 

 it reached liiehard III., when it ceased, as though ashamed 

 id' its latest assoeiatii.ms, i:or ai:'ter the eriiel and treacherous 

 (rlo'ster there were no more Plantagenets. But the broom 

 lives, and when it appears in full glory on the sunny sandy 

 slopes that it loves, it becomes a question if there is any 

 British wild plant or any l^laropean wild plant that can 

 surpass it in glory. The gorse might compete sometimes, 

 but the careful critic will see a difference. The gorse is 

 grand indeed, but the broom is brighter in every way, and 

 in the glitter of gold stands a,loiie iu its si)leiidour. 



"Time was when thy golden chain of tlowcis 

 AVas link'd the warrior's bi'ow to binil , 

 AVhen rcar'd in the .shelter of royal Ijowi'i's, 

 'i'hy wieath with ;( Ivingly roi-unal twin'd. 



"The chieftain who wore thee high on his eiest, 

 And hequeath'd to his race thy simple name, 

 Long ages pa.st hath sunk to his rest, 

 And i>nly lives in \Av ^'oiee of fame. 



*' Ajid oni' ^^■y one to i\w silent tijinh 



His line of print.es hatli pass'd ;tway , 



But thou art liere with thy golden bloom, 



In all the pi'ide of thy b(.'aut3' gay." 



The species of bniom that are most deserving of notice 

 as garden plants are the feiUowing : — 



Spanish broom (Sparfiiiinjaiiceiint or Gcinxtii Jlispaiiira). 

 ddiis resembles the common broom; the stems are leafless or 

 nearly so, the tlowers large, yellow, and fragrant. 



Portugal tiroom [Spufl ikhi dl/jinii nv ( u'u/.slii uIIhi) . This 

 has slender, furrowed, erect tiranches, a few leaves of one, 

 two, or three hairy leaflets, and an abundance of tlowers, 

 white or pink. 



