652 LESS IMPORTANT MIxNOR PRODUCE. 



is found in Germany on the clamp, rich, loamy soil of somewhat 

 open spruce forests, also in coppice and coppice-with-standards 

 of ash, alder, aspen, etc., where it grows in tufts between 

 the overshading coi)pice-shoots and thrives in places sheltered 

 from late frosts. The longer and softer the leaves, the more 

 valuable the product. The sedge is full-grown by the end 

 of June, and may be plucked from then till October ; it is 

 partially dried by spreading it on sunny roads, and then brought 

 in and plaited. It is extensively collected in the Baden PJiine 

 valley, where 5 cwt. of the grass per acre form a fair crop. The 

 yield may, however, under favourable conditions, amount to 9 

 or 10 cwt. per acre; 150 pounds of dry sedge yield 125 pounds 

 of plaits, worth 4-s. to Gs. per cwt. 



In the Grand Duchy of Baden at least 2,000 tons of sedge 

 (worth over t'12,500) are collected annually. In 1872, the town 

 of Friburg obtained £1,287 for sedge removed from its forests ; 

 and other towns, i'712 and £840. In 1873, several communes 

 in Baden obtained 30.s-. to 60.s. per acre for the sedge. More 

 recently the demand has somewhat lessened, owing to the sub- 

 stitution of Crin (VAfriqiic (filaments from a palm, Chdiuccrops 

 hum His) as stuffing for furniture. 



A grass {A<iroHtk (-(espltoHa) growing in damp forests and 

 usually mature in September, is also used as stuffing material. 



I The chair-factories at High Wycombe besides liorsehair use Alva, 

 as stuffing material ; * this product is the dried leaves of Zostera 

 marina belonging to the Nat. Order Naladca: and termed grass-wrack 

 by Hooker. It is abundant, at or below low-water mark around tlie 

 British Isles, on sandy or muddy edges of the sea and is often 

 thrown up in larfrc (|uantities by the tide.— Tr.] 



Rushes arc chielly used as packing material for bottles of 

 superior wine and for the seats of chairs. Share-grass 

 {Eqiiisctiim) is used for polishing furniture, and is largely 

 exported from Germany to Greece, Turkey, and Hungary. 



* [Cormnunicatcd liy ]\Ir. Glcnistcr, lU<rh Wycoiuho, tlio pl.-int beiii^ identified 

 by Marshall-Ward. 



Mr. Isaacs of Mark Lane, states that alva is imported by the ton, in pressed 

 bales, from Holland, France, and Oermany, at prices varying from .i;3 15s. to .C9 

 ])er ton of 20 bales. It is mowed in the sea, as, if di-a<,'ged out, it is not curly and 

 springy and suitable for stufling chairs, &c. Also used by florists.— Tk.] 



