Similarly, amongst shrubs, we have the dwarf Holly, golden variegated Euonymus, golden Privet, Ribes, double-flowered Gorse, _Euonymus radicans variegata_, and others. With Grasses, too, some curious experiences might be related. At the British Museum the Yarrow completely ousted the Grasses from the plots in front of that building, and in the moat of the Tower of London several Grasses that succeed in less smoky parts of the metropolis quickly die out. Near the main entrance to the Tower of London, and close to Billingsgate Fish Market, considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the Plane trees established; though in the matter of soil, and choice of strong sturdy specimens, every possible care was taken. At last it was found that the drip from the fish carts was the cause of the evil, and a remedy was quickly found. In another garden, where dust, smoke, and soot are plentiful, the Bladder Campion (_Silene inflata_), _Saponaria officinalis_, the common Marigold, and Rye Grass seem positively to revel. In situations almost constantly subjected to the sulphurous fumes of the railway engines near Camden Town, and in the poorest of soils, _Poa annua_ would appear to be quite at home. The chemical fumes from the pottery works at Lambeth are well known to act injuriously on vegetation generally, but the Mulberry, Fig, Sycamore, Turkey and Evergreen Oaks thrive as well there as they do in any part of the metropolis. The fumes given off from many of our city manufactories act most perniciously on vegetation generally—a fact that was brought to my notice by the behaviour of some of our most valuable smoke-resisting trees and shrubs planted in the graveyard at St. Giles-in-the-Fields. Meeting the gardener there I remarked on the wretched condition of the trees and shrubs generally, his quick reply being, “Well! with Crosse & Blackwell’s on the one side, and Nixey’s Black Lead Works on the other, it’s a wonder there’s a living plant left!” Here the common Fig and Black Poplar seemed better able to withstand the atmospheric conditions than either the London Plane or Acacia. With the largely increased use of coal gas for cooking purposes, improved grates, and the better combustion of fuel, the atmosphere of certain districts of London, has, however, become much less smoky than was the case a few years ago, and in consequence vegetation generally succeeds better. This is especially the case in some of the low-lying districts adjoining the Thames where the “slot” system of providing gas for cooking purposes has caused a great decrease in the consumption of coke and coal, with a corresponding reduction of the attending evils of smoke and soot. In one of the poorest parishes many of the inhabitants have taken advantage of the facilities offered by the Gas Company in the matter of cooking by means of gas provided by the “slot” system, which, in comparison with coal, has been found not only cheaper, but cleaner and handier to use.