200 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 
2 1, Uvex Evrop#’s L. The European, or common, Furze, or Whin. 
Identification. Lin. Spec., 1045, var. « ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 144.; Don’s Mill, 2. p. 143. 
Synonymes. Gentsta spindsa L’Obel; U. grandiflora Pour.; U. vernalis Tore; Whin, Gorse, 
Prickly Broome ; Ajone common, Jone marin, Jomarin, or Genét épineux, Ir. 
Engravings. Ung. Bot., t. 742.; and our jigs. 299. and 300. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves lanceolate, linear. Branchlets villous. Bracteas 
ovate, loose. Calyx pubescent. An erect compact bush, evergreen, from 
the colour of the bark. Middle and South of Europe, on gravelly soils; 
and in Britain on hills. Height 2 ft. to 5ft.; in sheltered woods, 10 ft. 
Flowers rich yellow ; February to May, and in mild winters September 
to May. Pod brown; ripein August. 
Varieties. : 
a U. &. 2 fldre pléeno has double flowers, and is a splendid plant when 
profusely covered with blossoms, well adapted for small gardens, and 
easily increased by cuttings. aed 
U. provincidlis and U. stricta are probably only varieties of U. eu- 
ropz’a, but, as they may possibly belong to U. nana, we have kept them 
distinct, and treated them as botanical species or races. 
The common furze, in Caernarvonshire, grows 
to the height of 1500 ft. above the sea, in open, 
airy, warm situations ; but in damp shaded valleys, 
not higher than 600 ft. 
In the North of Eng- 
land, according to Winch, 
it forms fine fox covers 
at 800 or 900 feet; and 
grows, in warm sheltered 
situations, at 2000 ft. 
At Inverness, it is found 
to the height of 1150 ft. ‘ 
About Tongue, in the ee 
north-west of Suther- oO 
land, where it was in- 8 
troduced, but is now 
naturalised, it scarcely attains 350 ft. of elevation. The young branches, 
bruised, and given to cattle and horses in a green state, are found highly 
nutritive as fodder; and for this purpose the variety U. (e.) stricta is pre- 
ferable, on account of the absence of prickles. The use of furze for hedges 
is chiefly desirable in situations where the hawthorn or the holly will not 
thrive; because the furze is not a plant of long duration. As a shelter to 
young trees, it is sometimes sown where acorns, beech masts, or chestnuts are 
to be sown, or young trees are to be planted. The use of furze ina dead 
state is chiefly as fuel for bakers’ ovens, for brick, tile, and lime kilns, and for 
lighting fires. In Scotland, it is sometimes used in kilns for drying oats. 
In England, a common use of it is to weave into the sides of hovels for 
sheltering cattle, to prevent them from rubbing against them. In gardens, 
the points of the shoots are chopped into pieces of about 1 in. in length, and 
dropped into the drills in which peas are sown, before the seeds are covered ; 
and, the earth being drawn over them and trod down, they are found effectu- 
ally to resist the attacks of mice and small birds. In France, the chopped 
branches are mixed with cow-dung, and the mixture afterwards formed into 
bricks, which are dried in the sun, and used as fuel. The seeds, if they could 
be procured in sufficient quantity, would, if ground into flower, form a nutri- 
tive food both for cattle and swine: they retain their vital property for several 
years. In Britany, large heaps are formed of alternate layers of turf and 
dried furze branches; and, the whole being set fire to, the ashes are preserved 
as manure. In many parts of both France and England, the ashes of dry 
furze branches are el as a lye for washing linen. A pound of seeds, which, 
in London, costs from 8d. to 1s., will sow an acre broad-cast, or 4 drill of a 
299. Ulex europ-e‘a, 
300. Ulex europre‘a. 
