i\o\ 1.1-:SS IMI'(»KTANT MINOR PRODUCE. 



is cut in the forest, tied in thin buntUcs and steeped like 

 flax ; it is rolled on ribbed |»lunks, again heated to render it 

 pliable, and is then ready for use for weavers'-brushes, scrub- 

 bing-brushes, carpet-brushes, &c. The roots of the common 

 erowbcrry {Kiiij)rtniiii niiiruiii, L.) and of Pohjtricliiim commune 

 and P. iinii;i<ritiii are also used for brushes, velvet brushes being 

 made from the latter in Rhenish Prussia. 



At Aachen, in IHo;], I'oli/trirluim in the rough was sold at 9s. 

 per ewt., and at Trier the prepared material at V2s. to 40.s. per 

 cwt. Tamarisk-moss {Ifi/jmitm tamariscinum) is largely used iu 

 the manufacture of artificial flowers, Hypnitm ftplendcns being 

 less valuable. In Germany, 100,000 tons of this material are 

 used annually, being valued at i'3,000. Tamarisk-moss is 

 chiefly found in beech forests, and the other moss among 

 conifers ; they are collected iu summer, kept dry under cover, 

 and during winter the separate fronds are cleaned, pressed 

 between leaves of paper, sorted, dyed and packed.* 



(5. Kii(ij)j>crn (I alls. 



The oak forests of Hungary and Servia yield an important 

 product in the galls produced on the cups of pedunculate acorns 

 (termed, commercially, knoppern galls), which fall in September, 

 arc collected and carefully dried on shelves, and sold as a valuable 

 tanning material. Although the price is ut present very low, 

 still, 20.S. to ;M).s. a cwt. are obtained at the place of production. 



Knoppern galls, as a rule, are only obtainable every 8 to 10 

 years ; plenty of acorns, a warm summer, plenty of gall-flies and 

 an open crop of oak trees, are essential conditions. In 1860 the 

 production of Austria-Hungary was estimated at 7,000 to 

 12,0(10 tons, 'j'hia yield has subsequently decreased, owing to 

 the destruction of oak forests. 



7. Tnitih's. 



The truffle (Tnhfr iiiihiiKixjiunnn) is the most valuable of 

 edible fungi; it is chiefly found in oak, elm and ash forests, a 

 few centimeters underground, in dump, rich soils of the warmer 



" D«iik('Iin;iiiii\ Z.-itsclirift, iv., p. 159. 



