BRUSH AND MAT MATERIALS. 151 



the foreign fibrous plants that have now come into repute were not 

 then known in what may now be called the "Bristle World." The 

 chief sale for the besoms was in the Lancashire towns of Oldham, 

 Rochdale, and Ashton-under-Lyne, Staleybridge in Cheshire, and 

 Glossop in North Derbyshire. 



In the hamlets outside these towns one meets with such names 

 as Besom Hill and Besom Row. The late Mr. Ben Brierly, a famous 

 writer in the Lancashire dialect, wrote an interesting story under the 

 title of " Besom Ben." The principal character in the story was a 

 famous vendor of the besoms, who went about hawking them strung 

 on the saddle of his donkey. The prices paid for besoms varied from 

 3d. to 6d., depending upon their size and make up and the general demand 

 for them. The young shoots of the ling are slender and fir-like. 

 They bear numerous axillary pale peach or pink-coloured flowers. The 

 plant belongs to the Ericaceae or Heath family. 



The letter A, fig. 98, shows an example of the arrangement of flowers, 

 and the peculiar Gothic structure of the young branches, showing an 

 architecture that has been pointed out by Ruskin in his work termed 

 Proserpina. 



B shows a flowering twig of the fine-leaved Heath, Erica cinerea. 

 The urn-shaped flowers of this plant are of a dark peach colour, and are 

 grouped together in numerous rosettes. 



C is an example of the cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix. The 

 flowers of this plant are shortly urceolate, of a pale pink colour, and 

 often appear in a crowded rosette at the terminal part of the twiggy 

 shoots. 



The general arrangement of the leaves shows a decussation or crossing 

 at right angles, hence the name of " Crossed-Leaved Heath." It is very 

 probable that the flowers of this plant are the " Heather Bells " of most 

 poetical and literary writers. 



Latterly the twiggy portions or branches of ling and heather have 

 been used for the making of brushes and brooms, in combination with 

 the pine and graceful twigs of the birch tree. 



Broom Root (Chrysopogon gryllus, Graminese). The roots of this 

 plant have been introduced as a cheap substitute for the French Whisk 

 or " Chiendent. " The fibres of Broom Root are less strong and finer 

 than those of the Mexican Whisk, and of a rather darker yellowish 

 colour. When dressed, they are more than a foot in length. 



French Whisk. There is a fair demand for it in the brush-making 

 industry. They are imported in bales of 100 cwts., etc. 



Coir Fibre (Cocos nucifera, Palmacese). The plant producing the 

 coir fibre is the Cocoa-nut palm. It is a native of the tropics, where it 



