64 
COMMON BROOM. 
SPARTIUM SCOPARIUM. 
-“ The broom, 
Yellow and bright as bullion unalloy’d 
Her blossoms. ” 
One of the most beautiful accompaniments of woodland 
scenery is the common broom. This is admitted by 
the discriminating and almost fastidious Gilpin, who, 
in enumerating the flowers and shrubs which give 
effect to the foreground of sylvan landscape, mentions 
with honour the bright yellow tint of the broom. Nor 
is it only in its spring or summer livery that it claims 
admiration; the cheerful verdure of its branches in 
winter pleasantly relieves the dreary aspect of the scene 
around. 
It also possesses many useful properties; it yields to 
the northern peasantry thatching and fuel, and it is 
capable of being manufactured into a coarse linen; 
besides which, in by-gone days, it afforded to the 
huntsman and the warrior staves for their spears and 
darts. 
