194 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



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 effusus, 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 industrious 

 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 sea-side, the coarser animal oils will 

 come very cheap. A pound of common grease may be 

 procured for four pence ; and about six pounds of grease 

 will dip a pound of rushes ; and one pound of rushes 



