lS2 MANUFACTURES FROM NETTLE FIBRES. 



congenial to the process, and that most suitable to the dif- 

 ferent purposes to which I thought them applicable. The ' 

 result of my experiments has deeply impressed upon my 

 mind, that they may be made subservient tonational utility, 

 particuUrly at the present period, when our foreign com- 

 merce is so generally impeded, and in consequence our sup- 

 plies of foreign hemp and flax nearly annihilated. 

 Its abundance. I beg leave to observe, that the growth of nettles is ge- 

 neral, in every country, particularly in strong fertile soils, 

 that on every bank, ditch, and place, which cannot be 

 brought to tillage, they are produced in such abundance, 

 that the quantity, if collected, would be of «^reat magni- 

 tude. 7^, 

 Ptaces adapted , The growth of them might be encouraged in such waste 

 to us grow . p]3j,gg^ QP Q^ yj^g|. quantity of land of that description might, 

 at a moderate expense, be made to produce a valuable crop 

 of a useful article heretofore regarded as a nuisance. The 

 shady places in woods, parks, and coppices, are particularly 

 favourable to their growth ; I have found them in such si- 

 tuations in the greatest perfection in point of length and 

 Answers every fibre. The harl, or iibre of them, is very similar to that of 

 purpose of ^jemp or flax, inclining to either according to the soil and 

 different situations in which they grow. I have ascertained, 

 as far as I have been able to proceed, that they may be sub- 

 stituted for every purpose for which hemp or flax is used, 

 from cloth of the finest texture down to the coarsest quality, 

 such as sailcloth, sacking, &c., and for cordage. 

 Material for Another very material use, the magnitude of which, I 

 paper. trust, will be duly estimated, is, that they may be applied 

 to the manufactory of paper of various qualities. The im- 

 pediments to foreign commerce have lately deprived us of a 

 supply of linen rags, and occasioned a general use of cotton 

 rags in the paper manufactory, which is injurious to the 

 preservation of the most valuable works in literature, to the 

 truth of which the observation of every one must bear testi- 

 mony, who has attended to the depreciated quality of writing 

 and printmg papers. 



That the produce of nettles, and the refuse of them from 

 the manufactory, may easily be convei-ted into writing, 

 printing, and all inferior sorts of paper, I feel confidently 



assured. 



