Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/594

 580 HEATH their flowers and highly prized as ornamental plants. Erica is the ancient name of a plant, probably of this genus ; the Anglo-Saxon name heath is also applied to localities where the plant grows. Six species of heath are found in Great Britain, some of them covering tracts many miles in extent; heaths are so abundant, and so often form an important feature in the landscape, that allusions to heath and heather are frequent in prose and poetry. The species found in this country is the commonest of those of Great Britain ; it is also known as ling, and is the most widely distributed of all heaths. A few years ago American botanists were greatly excited by the announcement that the heath, a plant heretofore unknown to our flora, had been found growing wild at Tewksbury, Mass. Many visited the locality, and for a while the question whether the Tewksbury heath was indigenous or an escape from cultivation was warmly discussed in scientific and other jour- nals. Subsequent discoveries of the plant in Maine, and its occurrence in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in the British provinces, leave no doubt that the heath is a native of the Ameri- can continent. This plant was named erica vulgaris by Linnaaus, and many botanists still retain this name, while others call it calluna vulgaris. Its leaves, instead of being whorled as in the other heaths, are opposite ; its deeply lobed corolla is shorter than the calyx; and these characters, together with the more im- portant one, a different structure in the cap- sule, would seem sufficient to separate it from the ericas and entitle it to rank as a genus to which the name calluna (Gr. KaXMveiv, to sweep) was given by Salisbury. The common Common Heath (Erica vulgnris). heath is of slow growth and has strong, slender stems ; in some unusual locations specimens 3 or 4 ft. high are found, but upon the scanty soil of the moors it is seldom above a foot. When nothing else can be obtained, cattle and sheep browse upon the herbage of the heath ; but it is not nutritious, and being powerfully astringent it unfavorably affects the health of the animals. Those who live where heath is abundant make it useful for various purposes ; the branches are employed for thatching hov- els and making wattled fences, and are even twisted into ropes ; they also serve for making baskets and brushes of various kinds, a fact which suggested the generic name. Small fagots of heath stems are im- ported into this coun- try in considerable quantities, and sold for scrubbing kitchen utensils and similar uses. The common heath frequently va- ries, and some of its forms are recognized as named varieties ; the flowers are gener- ally rose-colored, but they are found pure white and deep pur- Scotch Heath (Erica cinerea> plish red ; there is a form with variegated foliage, another with double flowers, and several others are found in European gardens. This and the Mediter- ranean heath, erica carnea, with its variety herbacea, are quite hardy near the city of Few York; and probably the Scotch heath, E. cinerea, the Cornish heath, E. vagans, and other northern species, would endure our ex- tremes of temperature. These plants are de- serving of more attention than they have yet received from cultivators in this country ; their low and compact growth adapt them to form beds by themselves, or to serve as an edging to borders containing other plants. The Medi- terranean heath blooms in early spring, while the common species opens its flowers at a time of scarcity of bloom, July and August. The greenhouse species and varieties, usually known as Cape heaths, are almost innumerable ; they possess delicacy and beauty of habit, which united with great freedom of flowering render them valuable for decorative purposes. The flowers are wonderfully diversified in form and tint, and will reward the care required to produce them in perfection. They are com- paratively neglected in this country, but in England, where the climate is especially favor- able, much attention is given to their cultiva- tion, especial houses being frequently devoted to heaths alone. Their roots, being exceeding- ly fine and thread-like, demand great care in providing them with a proper soil and in sup- plying them with water. HEATH, William, a major general in the American revolution, born in Roxbury, Mass., March 7, 1737, died there, Jan. 24, 1814. When the Massachusetts congress in 1774