THE HEATH GARDEN 113 



frequently the wood from which the briar-pipe is 

 made is supposed to be that of some rose, but it is 

 made from Erica arborea, briar being a corruption 

 of the French bruyere. Along the Mediterranean 

 coast, where it is found in abundance, it is very 

 charming in spring when covered with a cloud 

 of white bloom. E. lusitanica or E. codonodes, 

 to use a name under which it is better known ; 

 E. cmstralis, which is not, however, very hardy ; 

 E. mediterranea, or the Mediterranean heath ; 

 E. stricta and E. Scoparia are the most worthy of 

 this section. The majority of these are more for 

 the south than the north of England, but E. medi- 

 terranea is one of the most warmly commended 

 by Mr. Bean, the assistant curator of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew. Writing to me some time ago he 

 mentioned that at Kew a group seventy feet across 

 made a beautiful picture of purple colouring in 

 three or four years. " The habit of remaining for 

 a long time in beauty, which is so marked a char- 

 acteristic of the heaths, is possessed to the full ex- 

 tent by this species. It is beautiful from March 

 to May, and is all the more appreciated because the 

 majority of the trees and shrubs that bloom at this 

 season have yellow, pink, or white flowers." Three 

 varieties may be commended, the white-flowered 



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