204 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
I September, 
native habitat, before man lias tampered with its top in the way of priming, 
&c., or meddled with its root in the way of changing its locality by trans¬ 
planting; for as long as a native plant is to be seen in situ, you can 
make notes of what “ hath set it up,” and may see in some measure where 
its affections lie, for truly it may be said of plants as of man that “some 
affect the sun, and some the shade.” The Cistus or Rock Rose, the Heli- 
anthemum or Sun Rose, and the whole of the Stonecrop family are 
pre-eminently the furniture for the stony places ; but in the whole circle of 
cultivated plants, we shall not find one better calculated for this kind of 
service than the Double-flowered Gorse, for it exposes no spread of foliage 
to the stormy winds, and, moreover, carries itself so close to the ground as 
seldom to rise higher than the radius of its base, thus forming half a globe 
of the most glorious golden flowers that ever adorned a garden, the little 
that is seen of green enhancing the brightness of the gold, like the artistic 
dots that shade some famous picture. I would, therefore, direct attention to 
this plant in the first instance ; and I may as well inform the reader that I 
was rather peculiarly situated when I had to grow this plant on the top of 
a stone wall, though hundreds could testify that it was there grown to perfec¬ 
tion. The grounds were intersected by the main turnpike road, and in 
order to secure privacy both sides were bounded by a stone wall about the 
height of a man; and the double-flowering Gorse formed the coping, and 
overhung the top of the wall, so as not to give stragglers any encourage¬ 
ment to climb over. 
I need scarcely remark that ordinary planting would not have answered 
my purpose in this case, neither will it answer generally with stony ground, 
where plants have to establish themselves against steep slopes, or on hillocks, 
whether natural or artificial. The plant must be put in with a quantity of 
rich food, sufficient for it to feed upon until it can forage among the stones ; 
and this food for various reasons must be supplied, in the first instance, in 
the form of mud, having such an amount of clay and manure in its compo¬ 
sition as shall make it cling to the bed, and so thoroughly enclose the roots 
of the plant and the ball of earth, that no air can get at the feeders; while 
besides the mud, as many stones as can conveniently be got to cover it, 
should be laid on not only to shade and weight the soil, but to act as a 
cooler and moistener to the ball; for we always find the under side of a 
stone moist and cool, even in the sunshine when it is partially embedded in 
the earth, and when we are dealing with land where stones predominate we 
must accommodate our views to suit circumstances which it is above our 
power to alter. 
If I recollect aright we got plants of the double-flowered Gorse in 
pots at 40s. per 100, or at something under 6d. per plant; and when we 
consider the area that this plant will cover in three years, forming a bush 
