452 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



It is found on hills and moors, its roots so interlaced as to form a sort of 

 carpet. The narrow leaves turn inwards and overlap each other, clinging 

 closely to the stem ; and the branches spring up in tufts, bearing one, two, or 

 three cones, covered with bracts, in the axils of which are the capsules which 

 contain the " seed." 



There are some nine species of British Horse-tails Equisetacece (equus, 

 " horse," and seta, " hair " or " bristle ") leafless plants, the survivors of 

 prehistoric plants which in those bygone ages flourished as trees. The common- 

 est species is the Field Horse-tail (Equisetum arvense) a plague to the farmer 

 or allotment holder, owing to its long underground roots and stems. The 

 fructification is in capsules, arranged in cones. The outer skin of the stems 

 abounds in flinty particles, placed in rows or ridges ; and on this account 

 the stems were, and still are, used in many parts of the country for scouring 

 brass and wooden vessels, " Dutch rushes " being the old name for them. 



