154 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



London for the fabrication of a coarse kind of paper, 

 especially applicable to the sheathing of ships in the 

 manner that tarred brown paper is usually applied. 

 The material is a peculiarly soft kind of moss, which 

 grows abundantly in ditches and the low grounds of 

 Holland. In that country, and in several of the 

 northern states of Germany, paper made from this 

 plant is employed as a covering for the bottoms of 

 ships between the wood and copper sheathing, and 

 is found to be peculiarly serviceable in preventing 

 leaks, as in consequence of its absorbent quality it 

 swells up, forming a close and firm packing under 

 the copper. 



