CULTIVATION OF TIIE NETTLE IN GERMANY. 563 
“The nettle thrives in every soil, bemg found on the heath, sand, and 
moors, in the hedges and ditches, on dung-hills, garbage, &c. In plant- 
ing nettles, therefore, no great care is necessary in the choice of the soil, 
but a good digging or plowing, with plenty of manure, are great devel- 
opers. After such treatment the land should be left until spring and 
harrowed immediately before planting. 
“The roots of the nettle form in the course of time a flat, felt-like 
covering, whence rocky and unfertile districts, if covered with a couple 
of inches of soil, may be advantageously turned into nettle plantations, 
the network of roots effectively protecting the soil from the washing of 
rain and storms. Though the nettles grown on such soil do not yield 
the finest fibers, they furnish good cattle-fodder if planted with Urtica 
dioica. Kryriirichz obtained 18 wagon-loads from an acre so planted. 
“Since the plants stand from 10 to 15 years, the land ought to be 
well dug or plowed and manured before planting. It is not known 
which is the best fertilizer, but in the absence of animal manure alder 
leaves spread three or four inches deep after the nettle has been har- 
vested is very good; and instead of alder leaves the foliage of pines, 
junipers, &c., or straw may be used, but when using these dressings, 
animal or alder manure must be spread on the third year. 
“From animals the nettle has nothing to fear, and its greatest enemy 
is the Cuscuta europea, a parasitical plant, which grows so rapidly as to 
smother the nettle in 24 hours. The simplest method of destroying this 
parasite is by spreading salt, which is at the same time beneficial to the 
nettle. 
“The best time for planting the roots is in the spring after plowing 
and manuring as above mentioned, by slips or shoots, so that they may 
have struck root before winter. To raise from seed is unprofitable, 
since they are only fit for transplanting in the second year. 
“In planting, the roots are set out in bunches of three in rows 35 
centimeters apart, the intervals between the plants being about 30 cen- 
timeters. Bouché put the roots fom 1 to 3 meters apart, and recom- 
mends planting other plants, such as willows, hazel, &c., in the broad 
intervals which, while shading the nettles, are useful in other ways. 
The rows should run from north to south to shelter the plants as much 
as possible from the heat of the sun. The willows best adapted for this 
purpose are the salix, caspica, daphnoides, and calodendrons. It is, 
however, unnecessary to set out shade plants unless the nettles are 
planted in a very sunny exposure. It is possible that the planting of 
nettles in fruit trees would be lilling “two birds with one stone,” inas- 
much as the fruit trees would farnish the nettles shade while the latter 
would protect the fruit from unlawful plunderers. 
“As to the best time for cutting the nettle opinion varies. In the 
previous century the nettle was cut just after flowering and when the 
stem had just begun to wither. Bouché recommends cutting before the 
‘seeds ripen, because the fibers are then supple and tenderer; and, follow- 
ing this advice the crop should be cut in the first half of August. 
The nettle should be cut with a sickle in the early morning while the 
dew is still on it, for the prickies are then moist and pliable and do not 
sting. The plants should be cut, not pulled, close to the roots, and the 
stems should lie forty-eight hcurs after cutting. The dried nettles, hav- 
ing lost their stinging power, are stripped of their leaves, which may be 
gathered for fodder or left as manure. The nettle bundles must not be 
piled on each other, as they are liable to-heat after twenty-four hours, 
and so injure the fiber. 
“As fodder, the nettle, during the first two cr three years, may be 
