OF SELBORNE. 291 



aware prevails in many districts besides this ; but as I 

 know there are countries also where it does not obtain, 

 and as I have considered the subject with some degree 

 of exactness, I shall proceed in my humble story, and 

 leave you to judge of the expediency. 



The proper species of rush for this purpose seems to 

 be the Juncus conglomerates, or common soft rush, which 

 is to be found in most moist pastures, by. the sides of 

 streams, and under hedges. These rushes are in best 

 condition in the height of summer; but may be gathered 

 so as to serve the purpose well, quite on to autumn- 

 It would be needless to add that the largest and longest 

 are best. Decayed labourers, women, and children, 

 make it their business to procure and prepare them. 

 As soon as they are cut they must be flung into water, 

 and kept there; for otherwise they will dry and shrink, 

 and the peel will not run. At first a person would find 

 it no easy matter to divest a rush of its peel or rind, so 

 as to leave one regular, narrow, even rib from top to 

 bottom that may support the pith : but this, like other 

 feats, soon becomes familiar even to children ; and we 

 have seen an old woman, stone-blind, performing this 

 business with great dispatch, and seldom failing to 

 strip them with the nicest regularity. When these Junci 

 are thus far prepared, they must lie out on the grass to 

 be bleached, and take the dew for some nights, and 

 afterwards be dried in the sun. 



Some address is required in dipping these rushes in 

 the scalding fat or grease ; but this knack also is to be 

 attained by practice *. The careful wife of an industri- 

 ous Hampshire labourer obtains all her fat for nothing; 

 for she saves the scummings of her bacon pot for this 

 use ; and if the grease abounds with salt, she causes 

 the salt to precipitate to the bottom, by setting the 

 scummings in a warm oven. Where hogs are not much 

 in use, and especially by the seaside, the coarser animal 



1 The fat is usually melted in a dripping-pan, and in this the dipping 

 is performed. E. T. B. 



