PLANT-LORE OF SHAKESPEARE 
12 I 
divers other learned and credible persons, who have critically 
examined matters of fact, is certainly next to a miracle, and 
requires a strong faith,” 
Ibeatb. 
Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground, 
long Heath, brown Furze, anything. — Tempest , i. i, 70. 
There are other passages in which the word Heath occurs 
in Shakespeare, but in none else is the flower referred to; the 
other references are to an open heath or common. And 
in this place no special Heath can be selected, unless by 
“long Heath” we suppose him to have meant the Ling 
(Ccilluna vulgaris). And this is most probable, for so Lyte 
calls it. “ There is in this countrie two kindes of Heath, one 
which beareth the flowres alongst the stemmes, and is called 
Long Heath.” But it is supposed by some that the correct 
reading is “ Ling, Heath,” &c., and in that case Heath will be 
a generic word, meaning any of the British species (see Ling). 
Of British species there are five, and wherever they exist they 
are dearly prized as forming a rich element of beauty in our 
landscapes. They are found all over the British Islands, and 
they seem to be quite indifferent as to the place of their 
growth. They are equally beautiful in the extreme Highlands 
of Scotland, or on the Quantock and Exmoor Hills of the 
South—everywhere they clothe the hill-sides with a rich 
garment of purple that is wonderfully beautiful, whether seen 
under the full influence of the brightest sunshine, or under 
the dark shadows of the blackest thundercloud. And the 
botanical geography of the Heath tribe is very remarkable; 
it is found over the whole of Europe, in Northern Asia, and 
in Northern Africa. Then the tribe takes a curious leap, 
being found in immense abundance, both of species and 
individuals, in Southern Africa, while it is entirely absent from 
North and South America. Not a single species has been 
