90 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
The Foxglove is another plant which, though it can hardly be 
said to be improved by cultivation, is found in prett} 7 ' elevated 
situations, though it always requires a rich soil and some shelter. 
The finest beds of this plant, in the wild state, which are to be 
met with in Britain, are on the southern slopes of the Grampians, 
more especially the valley of the Tay, and its lateral branches, 
above the pass of Dunkeld ; and we have never observed them in 
such perfection when introduced into shrubberies, where they are 
tolerable, though certainly not very ornamental; and in a flow T er~ 
garden they are quite out of place. Such are some of the wild 
British plants which are taken into culture for the sake of the 
flowers. The number is trifling, and the genera of small impor¬ 
tance ; and we believe that the interest could not be heightened 
by any additions that could be made. 
When we come to the more rare genera which it might be de¬ 
sirable to cultivate, if not for their beauty, at least for the pecu¬ 
liarity, we find all our efforts unavailing. The orchidaceous 
plant, whether of the chalky down, the semi-quagmire, or any 
other situation, we can do nothing with it; for it will not live 
under any artificial treatment hitherto known; and the same may be 
said of all our wild plants which have any thing peculiar about them. 
What is the cause of this stubbornness ? We can grow the 
plants of every climate from the equator up to our own ; and 
some of them, which are natives of comparatively low latitudes, 
we can greatly improve,—as is the case with the Dahlia, for 
instance. But we cannot so cultivate our own native plants. As 
we go northward the difficulty increases, and it is this which 
throw’s some light on the cause : but we must defer to a future 
opportunity, if such should offer, the few remarks which our 
scanty knowledge will enable us to make on the principle. 
ON ERICiE. 
by MR. R. plant. ( Continued .) 
The subject of my last paper being placed in the first tribe of 
the order of which it is the type, I will now just run over some 
of the most prominent plants contained in it, passing over those 
of less interest to the florist. Most of the plants in this tribe, 
(Ericce Verce,) and indeed the wdiole order, are natives either of 
