ESSAYS 



THE USES OP WEEDS AND WILD PLANTS (Winifred E. 

 Brenchley, D.Sc, F.L.S., Rothamsted Experimental Station) 



From very early times in history people have recognised that many of the plants 

 native to any district can be turned to some useful account. In olden times the 

 chief use of wild plants was in connection with medicine, and, as in those days 

 superstition was rife, the majority of plants had some medicinal value attributed 

 to them, provided they were gathered at the right time and under the proper 

 auspices. Most of this herb lore is now lost, though traces of it still survive 

 in out-of-the-way places. Various other local uses were made of wild plants, but, 

 as methods of agriculture improved, and as cultivated plants were introduced from 

 one country to another, the useful native plants became more and more neglected 

 as their exploitation became less profitable in comparison with cultivated crops. 



The war, however, has caused a considerable revival, and old and new uses 

 have been found for native plants in the belligerent countries. Many of these are 

 confessedly makeshift, and will be given up as soon as possible, but in a few 

 cases valuable improvements have been effected, and it is probable that further 

 advances will be made in the future. 



Many of the uses suggested in this paper have been published in the Foreign 

 Press during the war. As these apply to countries affected by the blockade, some 

 amount of discrimination is necessary in estimating the actual value of the wild 

 plants in these cases for the purposes quoted, as it would often prove most 

 unprofitable to utilise them if ordinary supplies were available. 



The uses that can be made of weeds and wild plants fall into several classes : 



i. Human food, chiefly as substitutes for ordinary articles of consumption, and 

 also as oil. 



2. Fodder. 



3. Fibres, which can be used to replace or supplement the ordinary fibres 

 of commerce. 



4. Fuel. 



5. Manures. 



6. Drugs. 



7. Dyes. 



8. Miscellaneous uses. 



I. Human Food. — Wild plants are used for food in various ways, but in most 

 cases they are only adopted as a temporary expedient, and when the emergency 

 is over their use is discontinued, though there are a few outstanding exceptions to 

 tais rule. 



The aromatic or appetising properties of many wild plants make them more 

 01 less efficient substitutes for tea, coffee and even cocoa when they are properly 

 prepared. The root of chicory (Cichorium intybus) has long been used as coffee, 

 eitier alone or as a mixture. In Belgium ' pure chicory has been substituted for 



1 Hogg, R., and Johnson, G. W., Wild Flowers of Great Britain^ 1863. 



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