USES OF WEEDS 203 



In the Scilly Islands the ponies feed chiefly on the gorse they 

 find in the hills. 



Gorse is also good for fuel, and in Cornwall is cultivated 

 for the purpose, being chiefly made into, faggots for heating 

 ovens. It burns rapidly with much heat, and was formerly 

 used in lime burning. The ashes are rich in alkali, and are 

 made into lye or worked up into balls with clay to serve as a 

 substitute for soap. 1 They are also very valuable as manure, 

 particularly on peaty soil. 



Gorse forms good cover for game and shelter for young 

 forest trees, 2 and it can also be used for hedges if kept closely 

 trimmed. It is, however, not very resistant to frost, although 

 it will stand salt spray if planted near the sea. 



Urtica dioica (Common nettle). This much-despised weed 

 has, in days gone by, proved an exceedingly useful friend to 

 mankind. The stem contains a large proportion of fibre, which 

 has been manufactured into every grade of material from ropes 

 and cordage to fine white linen. It was much used in the 

 manufacture of textile fabrics by the ancient Egyptians, 2 and 

 even at the present day supplies the inhabitants of Siberia with 

 fishing lines and cordage, while in many villages of Piedmont 

 it is made into cloth. In 1911 an Austrian firm devised a 

 method of removing the gum from the rough fibre, the result- 

 ing finished product being a pure bleached fibre which was 

 glossy, supple, and flexible. The war, moreover, has given a 

 considerable impetus to the exploitation of this source of fibre, 

 and so many improvements and inventions have been carried 

 out that it seems likely that, with judicious methods of culti- 

 vation, nettles will prove a profitable crop. In 1916 the Central 

 Powers had developed the industry to such an extent that 

 nettle fibres were reported to cost 60 per cent, less than im- 

 ported cotton, and the War Ministries were using it for manu- 

 facturing wagon-covers, tents, sackings, clothing materials, and 

 even cloth for military underwear. In Denmark the nettle yarn 

 has been worked up with wool, with satisfactory results. At 

 first the warp was of wool, the woof of yarn spun from nettle 

 fibres, and the resulting fabric, though not so soft as pure 

 woollen cloth, possessed considerable strength and was suitable 

 for men's clothes. Later on attempts were made to blend 

 the wool and nettle fibres in the yarn, as better results were 

 expected from such a combination. 3 



1 Johnson, loc. cit. '* Hogg and Johnson, loc. cit. 



3 See Brenchley, W. E. (1919), "The Uses of Weeds and Wild Plants," 

 Science Progress, XIV, No. 53, pp. 128-129. 



