ECONOMIC USES OF LICHENS — LLANO 417 



MISCELLANEA 



Gums. — The dyeing and paper industries have need for quantities 

 of sizing with which to dress and stiffen silks, to print and stain calico, 

 and to size paper. During the Napoleonic Wars, because of the French 

 monopoly of Senegal gum. Lord Dundonald attempted to introduce 

 the use of lichen mucilage in place of the French product, but there 

 is no evidence that the English market was interested. At Lyons the 

 French appear to have successfully used lichen mucilage as a substi- 

 tute for gum arabic in the fabrication of dyed materials (13). The 

 problem has been investigated by Minford (13) who reports that Ice- 

 land moss and some other lichens may be prepared as light-colored, 

 transparent, and high-grade gelatin, isinglass, and similar gelatinous 

 products, corresponding to those obtained from vegetable products 

 for this purpose. 



Lichens for decorations. — The use of lichens for home decorations, 

 funeral wreaths, and grave wreaths is commonly exploited in the 

 northern countries of Europe, partly as a result of tradition and the ex- 

 pense of out-of -season flowers. The Cladoniaceae or reindeer lichens 

 lend themselves best to this purpose and are always used in centerpiece 

 table decorations in winter and in connection with Christmas orna- 

 ments. In older types of Swedish houses, where the outer or storm 

 window can be separated from the permanent window, the space be- 

 tween at the base is filled with this lichen which may act partly as 

 insulation. Dry lichens are brittle and are usually gathered and 

 worked in the fall of the year when the air is moist ; they are woven 

 into wreaths by the poorer farming class who offer them for sale on 

 market days at low prices. Addition of water, as for cut-flowers, 

 does not preserve them but tends to make them moldy. Lichens can 

 maintain themselves on hygroscopic water. The harvesting of 

 lichens, especially CI. alpestris., can be a source of considerable revenue. 

 In 1935, 2,900 boxes (orange-crate size) were exported from Norway. 

 In 1936, 7,700 boxes were shipped, and in 1937, 12,500 boxes which 

 yielded a revenue of 90,000 Norwegian kroner ($1.00=4.90 Norw. kr., 

 August 1947). Later shipments went only to Germany, and the 

 Goteborgs Handels-Och Sjofarts-Tidning (newspaper) published a 

 story on October 12, 1946, entitled "Fjiillresa Med Linne," which said 

 that this lichen export was being used by the Germans as a source for 

 "explosives." The Germans had an essential need for this plant also 

 as grave decorations. The gathering of these lichens for decorations 

 is cause for further dispute between Lapp herders and commercial 

 harvesters. Cladonia species are occasionally used in table models and 

 dioramas to represent trees. 



In northern or mountainous areas where forest cover exists, it is 

 possible to estimate the normal depth of the snow cover by noting the 



