44 



N KTS 



NKTTLE 



land. Not only do the painting* on ancient 

 Egyptian monuments show that in the day* when 

 them were executed net* were in common use, )>ut 

 |HirtiuiiM of actual net* of great age have l-.-n 

 olitained in Kgyp 1 - They are also repreeiitil on 

 the monument!)' of ancient Greece. The Eskimo 

 anil Tchuktchis make nets of twisted sinew or of 

 strips of Beat-akin, and the Chinese construct tine 

 neta from the cocoomi of the wild nil k worm, which 

 are soaked in oil so as to render them barely 

 visible. Silk neto also are used in Greece. In 

 some parlH of the world net* are made of the fibres 

 nf plant* but little known: but in civilised coun- 

 tries the chief materials used in their construction 

 are hemp and cotton, and to a lens extent llax. 

 More neto are now made of cotton than of hemp, 

 became, although the former are less durable, 

 they are of lighter weight, more easily managed, 

 ami a smaller number of corks and bungs suffices 

 to Moat them. 



The making of nets by hand is an extremely 

 simple operation. Only two instruments are re- 

 quired viz. a netting-needle like a in the figure, 

 for meshes above one-naif inch in width, or one like 



6 for meshes under this size, and a mesh-pin, 

 which is simply a straight piece of wood of oval 

 section and a few inches long, upon which the 

 loom are formed. If the meshes are to be one 

 inrli from knot to knot, then the circumference of 

 the mesh-pin requires to be two inches. There 

 are two ways of forming the knote on hand -made 

 nets (see KNOTS, figs. 11 and 13), but both are 

 equally simple, and the whole process can be 

 learned in a few minutes by seeing an operator 

 at work. In some countries nets are still largely 

 made by hum). 



Netting-machines are now extensively used for 

 the manufacture of nets. The looms are of 

 OMBpUcMtod construction, and it would require a 

 ronsiilenilile immlier of illustrations and detailed 

 descriptions to give even a general idea of how 

 they perform their work. One of the most success- 

 ful of tlics,. js known as the Paterson net-loom. 

 It was invented by Mr James Paterson, and sub- 

 sequently ( 1835 ) brought into a more practical 

 shape by Mr Walter Ritchie, Iwth of Musselburgh. 

 (The knot made by this loom is the same as li^. 18 

 of KNOTS.) It works by a peculiar arrangement of 

 hooks, needles, and sinkers. Since the middle of 

 the century Messrs .1. \- \V. Stuart, who then 

 took up Mr Paterson 's business, have made some 

 further improvements upon his loom. An improved 

 form of a net- loom, on a different principle, invented 

 by a Frenchman named Pecqnenr, in 1840, was 

 subsequently patented in England. The designers 

 of the later and more perfect form of this loom, 

 which does its work well, are MM. Baudouin and 

 Jonannin. Their Knglish patent is taken out in 

 the name of W. Clark, agent, and the specifica- 

 tion, which contains H number of explanatory 

 lithographs, is dated 19th September 1801 (No. 

 2340). 



A variety of neta are used by fishermen, but the 

 principal kinds are the seine, the tin ft. net, the 

 moored-ntt, and the trrnrt (see FISHKH'IES). The 

 net used for taking the tunny in the Mediterranean 

 i often nearly a mile long, and some Hussian 

 hand-made net* are 3000 feet in length. Means 



are adopted to increase the durability of cotton 

 and hemp net*, especially of the former. One 

 plan is to tar them ; but, although this to some 

 extent prevents the injurious action of sea-water 

 u|>on them, it has the disadvantage of hiding fault v 

 pan-. They are, however, much more frequently 

 Larked ' in an infusion of entdi (see CATECllf), 

 winch like tar lessens the action of salt water 

 ujMin them and at the same time admits of the 

 state of the meshes lieing lietter seen. A solution 

 of alum is also useful in preserving the fibre of 

 the string of which nets are made. 



One or two kinds ot nets are made for catching 

 birds, such as fly-nets for waders frequenting the 

 seashore, and clap-nets for small birds (see WILD- 

 FOWL). Fine nets are used to capture insects, 

 and by the inhabitants of some countries as a pro- 

 tection from mosquitoes. Other kinds are em- 

 ployed to protect fruit and blossoms, for articles 

 required on hoard ship, for mess-cooking, and for 

 domestic purjtoses. 



Nettle ( Urtica), a genus of plants of the natural 

 order Urticen*, having unisexual Mowers, the male 

 and female on the same or separate plants ; the 

 male flowers with a 4-parted perianth and four 

 stamens ; the female flowers with a 2-parted 

 perianth and a tufted stigma ; the fruit an 

 acheniiim. The species are herbaceous plant-, 

 shrubs, or even trees, many of them covered with 

 stinging Hairs (q.v. ), which pierce the skin when 

 touched, and emit an acrid juice, often causing 

 much inflammation and pain. When a nettle is 

 grasped in such a way as to press the hairs to the 

 stem no stinging ensues ; but the slightest inad- 

 vertent touch of some of the sj>ecies produces veiy 

 severe pain. The acridity which is characteristic 

 of all nettles, more or less, is by some said to In- 

 due to bicarbonate of ammonia, or according to 

 others free formic acid being present in the limpid 

 juice secreted by the glandular hairs of the leaves 

 and stems. The stinging of the native nettles of 

 Europe is trifling in comparison with that of some 

 East Indian species. I', crenulata is particularly 

 notable for the severity of the pain which it pro- 

 duces, without either pustules or apparent inflam- 

 mation. The first sensation is merely a slight 

 tingling, but within an hour violent pain is felt, 

 as if a_ red-hot iron wen- continually applied, and 

 the pain extends far from the original spot, con- 

 tinues for about twenty -four hours and then abates, 

 but is ready to return in its original intensity on 

 tin; application of cold water, and does not cease 

 for fully eight days. Cold water has a similar 

 ellect in increasing or renewing the pain of all 

 kinds of nettles. Still more formidable than this 

 species is U. vrentissima, the Devil's Leafol Timor. 

 Of British species the most venomous, but the most 

 rare, is the Homan Nettle ( U. pilulijera ) ; next to 

 it is the Small Nettle ( U. arena), frequent about 

 towns and villages, and in waste and cultivated 

 ground ; whilst the least venomous is the most 

 common and only perennial species, the Great 

 Nettle ( I', tiioira), everywhere abundant, but par- 

 ticularly near human habitations, or their former 

 sites, the desolation of which it may l>e said to 

 proclaim. The roots of nettles, boiled with alum, 

 atfbrd a yellow dye ; and the juice of the stalks 

 and leaves has been used to dye woollen stuffs of 

 a beautiful and permanent green. The young 

 shoots of U. dioica have been much used in some 

 parts of Scotland and other countries as greens, 

 and their peculiar flavour is much relished by 

 some, although, in general, the use of them is con- 

 lincd to the poor. They are valuable as anti- 

 scorbutics, but are gritty to the taste from the 

 quantity of crystals (Oystolithes) contained. What- 

 ever it is that gives nettles their stinging power 

 is dissipated by (toiling and drying. The high 



