Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
HEATH
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: HAN-HEG
del.icio.us it!
|
HEATH , the See also:English See also:form of a name given in most See also:Teutonic dialects to the See also:common See also:ling or heather (Calluna vulgaris), but now applied to all See also:species of Erica, an extensive genus of monopetalous See also:plants, belonging to the See also:order See also:Ericaceae. The heaths are See also:evergreen shrubs, with small narrow leaves, in whorls usually
Calluna vulgaris.
set rather thickly on the shoots; the persistent See also:flowers have 4 sepals, and a 4-cleft campanulate or tubular corolla, in many species more or less ventricose or inflated; the dry See also:capsule is 4-celled, and opens, in the true Ericae, in 4 segments, to the See also:middle of which the partitions adhere, though in the ling the valves See also:separate at the dissepiments. The plants are mostly of See also:low growth, but several See also:African kinds reach the See also:size of large bushes, and a common See also:South See also:European species, E. arborea, occasionally attains almost the aspect and dimensions of a See also:tree.
One of the best known and most interesting of the See also:family is the common heath, heather or ling, Calluna vulgaris (fig. I), placed by most botanists in a separate genus on See also:account of the See also:peculiar dehiscence of the See also:fruit, and from the coloured calyx, which extends beyond the corolla, having a whorl of sepal-like bracts beneath. This See also:shrub derives some economic importance from its forming the See also:chief vegetation on many of those extensive wastes that occupy so large a portion of the more sterile lands of See also:northern and western See also:Europe, the usually desolate See also:appearance of which is enlivened in the latter See also:part of summer by its abundant See also:pink blossoms. When growing erect to the height of 3 ft. or more, as it often does in sheltered places, its See also:purple stems, See also:close-leaved See also:green shoots and feathery spikes of See also:bell-shaped flowers render it one of the handsomest of the heaths; but on the bleaker elevations and more arid slopes it frequently rises only a few inches above the ground. In all moorland countries the ling is applied to many rural purposes; the larger stems are made into brooms, the shorter tied up into bundles that serve as brushes, while the See also:long trailing shoots are
See also:woven into baskets. Pared up with the See also:peat about its roots it forms a See also:good See also:fuel, often the only one obtainable on the drier See also:moors. The shielings of the Scottish Highlanders were formerly constructed of heath stems, cemented together with peat-mud, worked into a See also:kind of See also:mortar with dry grass or See also:straw; hovels and sheds for temporary purposes are still sometimes built in a similar way, and roofed in with ling. Laid on the ground, with the flowers above, it forms a soft springy See also:bed, the luxurious See also:couch of the See also:ancient Gael, still gladly resorted to at times by the See also: The See also:young shoots were in former days employed as a substitute for hops in See also:brewing, while their astringency rendered them valuable as a tanning material in See also:Ireland and the Western Isles. They are said also to have been used by the Highlanders for See also:dyeing woollen See also:yarn yellow, and other See also:colours are asserted to have been obtained from them, but some writers appear to See also:con-fuse the See also:dyer's-See also:weed, See also:Genista tine/See also:aria, with the heather. The young juicy shoots and the seeds, which remain long in the capsules, furnish the red See also:grouse of See also:Scotland with the larger portion of its sustenance; the ripe seeds are eaten by many birds. The tops of the ling afford a considerable part of the See also:winter See also:fodder of the hill flocks, and are popularly supposed to communicate the See also:fine flavour to Welsh and Highland mutton, hut See also:sheep seldom See also:crop heather while the See also:mountain See also:grasses and rashes are sweet and accessible. Ling has been suggested as a material for See also:paper, but the stems are hardly sufficiently fibrous for that purpose<< The purple or fine-leaved heath, E. cinerea (fig. 2), one of the most beautiful of the genus, abounds on the See also:lower if oors and See also:commons of See also:Great See also:Britain and western Europe, in such situations being sometimes more prevalent than the ling. The flowers of both these species yield much See also:honey, furnishing a plentiful See also:supply to the bees in moorland districts; from this l; eath honey the Picts probably brewed the See also:mead said by Boeti,is to have been made from the flowers themselves. The genus contains about 420 known species, by far the greater part being indigenous to the western districts of South See also:Africa, but it is also a characteristic genus of the Mediterranean region, while several species extend into northern Europe. No species is native in See also:America, but ling occurs as an introduced plant on the See also:Atlantic See also:side from See also:Newfoundland to New See also:Jersey. Five species occur in Britain: E. cinerea, E. tekralix (See also:cross-leaved heath), both abundant on heaths and commons, E. vagans, Cornish heath, found only in See also:West See also:Cornwall, E. ciliaris in the west of See also:England and Ireland and E. mediterranea in Ireland. The three last are south-west European species which reach the northern limit of their See also:distribution in the west of England and Ireland. E. scoparia is a common heath in the centre of See also:France and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region, forming a spreading See also:bush several feet high. It is known as bruyere, and its stout underground rootstocks yield the briar-See also:wood used for pipes. The Cape heaths have long been favourite See also:objects of See also:horticulture. In the warmer parts of Britain several will See also:bear exposure to the See also:cold of See also:ordinary winters. in a sheltered border, but most need the See also:protection of the conservatory. They are sometimes raised from See also:seed, but are chiefly multiplied by cuttings " struck " in See also:sand, and afterwards transferred to pots filled with a mixture of See also:black peat and sand; the peat should be dry and See also:free from sourness. Much See also:attention is requisite in watering heaths, as they seldom recover if once allowed to droop, while they will not bear much See also:water about their roots: the heath-See also:house should be See also:light and well ventilated, the plants requiring See also:sun, and soon perishing in a close or permanently See also:damp See also:atmosphere; in England little or no See also:heat is needed in ordinary seasons. The European heaths succeed well in English gardens, only requiring a peaty See also:soil and sunny situation to thrive as well as in their native localities: E. See also:carnea, mediterranea, ciliaris, vagans, and the See also:pretty cross-leaved heath of boggy moors, E. Tetralix, are among those most worthy of cultivation. The beautiful large-flowered St Dabeoc's heath, belonging to the closely allied genus Dabeccia, is likewise often seen in gardens. It is found in boggy heaths in See also:Connemara and See also:Mayo, and is also native in West France, See also:Spain and the See also:Azores. A beautiful See also:work on heaths is that by H. C. See also:Andrews, containing coloured engravings of nearly 300 species and varieties, with descriptions in English and Latin (4 vols., 1802-1805). See also:Lion of the twisting and traversing See also:lace See also:machine was disputed, and a patent was taken out by a See also:clever workman for a similar machine, which was decided at a trial in 1816 to be an infringement of See also:Heathcoat's patent. He followed his great invention by others of much ability, as, for instance, contrivances for ornamenting See also:net while in course of manufacture and for making See also:ribbons and platted and See also:twisted net upon his See also:machines, improved yarn See also:spinning-frames, and methods for winding raw See also:silk from cocoons. He also patented an improved See also:process for extracting and purifying See also:salt. An offer of £ro,000 was made to him in 1833 for the use of his processes in dressing and See also:finishing silk nets, but he allowed the highly profitable See also:secret to remain undivulged. In 1832 he patented a See also:steam plough. Heathcoat was elected member of See also:parliament for See also:Tiverton in 1832. Though he seldom spoke in the House he was constantly engaged on committees, where his thorough knowledge of business and See also:sound See also:judgment were highly valued. He retained his seat until 18J9, and after two years of declining See also:health he died on the 18th of See also:January 1861 at Bolham House, near Tiverton. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat,... |
[next] HEATH, BENJAMIN (1704-1766) |