CHAP. XLI. LEGUM1NA CEJE. CY TISUS. 597 



The principal uses of the broom in Britain, in plantations, are as a shelter for 

 game; and, when cut down, for besoms, fuel, shelters (that is, for filling in hur- 

 dles or railings of fences, in the manner of reed-hurdles), and for thatch for 

 ricks and cottages. It has been sometimes sown on poor exposed soils, in 

 order to form a shelter, preparatory to the insertion of plants or seeds of 

 timber trees, in the same manner as furze (see p. 573.) is on rich soils ; but, 

 though it affords shelter to the tops of the plants, yet it exhausts the soil to 

 such a degree as to do them more harm than good. As an undergrowth, to 

 protect game, among trees, whatever may be the nature of the soil, it doubt- 

 less exhausts it, and naturally checks the growth of the trees. It can only, 

 therefore, be recommended as undergrowth where game is considered of more 

 value than timber. In ornamental plantations, it forms a splendid plant when 

 allowed to attain a large size ; and, for this purpose, it is sometimes grafted 

 standard high on Cytisus (L.) alpinus. 



Propagation and Culture. The broom produces abundance of seeds, which, 

 according to M. Hartig, retain their germinating quality for a very long time : 

 some that he kept 25 years, in a room which was occupied, having come up as 

 well as new seed. Hence fields that have been many years in pasture, 

 when broken up for corn, sometimes produce abundance of young plants of 

 broom ; or, when woods have been grubbed up, or even the surface of the 

 ground burned, the same thing has happened. (See Gard. Mag.,x. p. 81.) 

 The seeds, when sown as soon as gathered, or in the following spring, come 

 up in part in the June following, and in part remain in the ground till the 

 next April or May. When sown as a shelter for game, the ground, if an 

 open field, is prepared by ploughing, or, if among trees, by digging in patches, 

 and scattering the seeds in the same manner as recommended for furze. No 

 farther culture is requisite than pulling out the larger weeds the first year. 

 Price of the seeds, in London, is Is. a pound ; price of plants of C. s. albus, 

 from Is. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; of C. s. flore pleno, 2s. 6d. ; at New York, where it is 

 called Scotch broom, plants are 37| cents each. 



§ iii. Calycotome Link, 



Derivation. From kalyx, a calyx, and tome, a cutting; in reference to the calyx, the upper part of 

 which, after some time, falls off, in such a manner as to give the remainder the appearance of 

 being cut round. 



Sect. Char. Calyx campanulate, somewhat bilabiate, at length becoming 

 truncate. Pod thickened on the upper suture. Shrubs with spiny 

 branches and yellow flowers. {Dec. Prod. , ii. p. 154.) 



$k 11. C. spino v sus Lam. The spiny Cytisus. 



Identification. Lam. Diet, 2. p. 247. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. 



Synonyme. Spartium spinosum Lin. Sp., 997. 



Engravings. J. Bauh. Hist, l.p. 2. p. 376., icon.; Lob. Icon., 2. t. 95. 



Spec. Char., $c. Branches angled, spiny. Leaves trifoliolate ; leaflets obovate-oblong. Legumes per- 

 fectly smooth. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) Upon hills and rough places from Perpignan to Genoa, in 

 Corsica, and in the Algerine country, where it attains the height of from 2 ft. to 10 ft. ; producing 

 its yellow flowers in June and July. It was introduced in 1596, but is not very common in British 

 collections. 



» 12. C. lani'gerus Dec. The wool-bearing Cytisus. 



Identification. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. 



Synonymes. Spartium lanigerumDes/. Fl. Atl.,2. p. 135. ; Calycotome villbsa Link Enum. ; Spartium 

 villdsum Brot. Fl. Lus., 2. p. 85., and Poir. Voy., 2. p. 207. 



Spec. Char.,fyc. Branches furrowed, spiny. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflets obovate-elliptical. Legumes 

 very hairy in a woolly manner. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) 



Variety. 



& C. I. 2 rigidus Dec. Spines very strong. 



Description. The species is a shrub, between 2 ft and 10 ft. high, wild on hills and in rough places 

 in Corsica, Crete, the Archipelago, Mauritania, Gibraltar, and Portugal ; producing its yellow flowers 

 from June to July. It was introduced in 1821, but is not common in collections : in all probability, it 

 is nothing more than a variety of the preceding species. 



5 s 4 



