are
pitcher-shaped. The name _mediterranea_ is misleading, for according to
Moggridge, the Mediterranean botanist, it is not a native of that
region at all; it is rather of Biscayan origin, and is found in Western
France and Spain.

On the boggy heaths of Galway and Mayo a form of this species is found;
it is known as _E. mediterranea var. hibernica_, and grows 2 to 5 feet
high. The typical _E. mediterranea_ was represented in the Syon gardens
seventy years ago by a specimen 10 feet high. Do any such noble examples
remain in this country now? _E. mediterranea hybrida_ has been already
alluded to.

_E. stricta._--Although not so strikingly beautiful as the Heaths
previously mentioned, _E. stricta_ is the hardiest of all the taller
species. In inclement districts, where a tall Heath is desired, it may
be recommended; it grows from 5 to 6 feet high, and is of erect and
sturdy growth, with leaves borne in whorls four to six together; they
are deep green, and a large mass of plants with their erect plumose
branches produces a somewhat unusual effect. _E. stricta_, like so many
Heaths, has a long flowering season; it begins to bloom in June, is at
its best in July, but three months later flowers may still be gathered.
The flowers are pale purple, and produced in terminal clusters. It has
been in cultivation since 1765, and is a native of South-Western Europe;
it is occasionally labelled _E. ramulosa_.

[Illustration: _A GROUPING OF HEATHS (Erica mediterranea and vars. alba
and hybrida)._]

_E. scoparia._--This species has proved to be the tallest Heath near
London, for it has during the last few years grown as high as 9 feet.
This gives it a certain distinction, but when regarded as a
flower-bearing plant it is, I think, the least worthy of the tribe.
The flowers are crowded in the leaf axils in great profusion, but are
small and greenish white; the growth of the plant is somewhat straggling
and uneven, but it has one merit--viz., it is quite hardy. I have seen
its stems split by hard frost on more than one occasion during the last
twelve years, but no permanent injury has resulted. It flowers in June,
and is a native of the mountainous country to the north of the
Mediterranean, especially about Mentone.

THE DWARFER HEATHS

The dwarf Heaths can be used quite differently from the more tree-like
species that have just been described: as a carpeting beneath
sparsely-planted shrubs, for furnishing sloping banks, or for