WOODFORD. 145 



twigs begin to wither, dry up, and fall off, through which 

 the hedge becomes thin at the bottom, so that small 

 animals can creep through it. This can nevertheless, be 

 remedied by sowing some furze seeds every year under the 

 hedge. Also, if the twigs are cut off, or the stalks them- 

 selves down at the bottom, then it strikes out new and 

 fresh shoots, otherwise it is much used for hedges in 

 gardens. The use of this bush, besides this, is that in this 

 woodless district it is much used for fuel, whence it happens 

 that it has seldom got to grow to any height. Otherwise 

 it thrives well, so that where it has once taken hold, 

 fatt faste, it is not so easy to eradicate. The farmers, 

 Bdnderna, sometimes have great trouble in effecting 

 this, where it has got to insinuate itself [T. I. p. 178.] 

 sufficiently into the fields. The twigs are much used to 

 light fires with, because they have the same qualities as 

 Juniper-twigs, or straw, viz., that they flare up, and 

 quickly take fire, and rise up in a large and bright flame. 



In many places the walls of outhouses and sheds 

 uthus ocn liders-vaggar, were made of it in this 

 way, that the roof of the shed, lider-taket, stood on 

 posts ; between each post there were staves, storar, 

 erected, one foot or a little more apart ; between 

 these the furze was wreathed in the same way as the 

 sprays in a kol-skrinda, or coal-sled, are plaited in 

 serpentine folds. Sheep eat these shoots when they 

 have newly run up, but they do so only from hunger, and 

 for want of other better food. Rabbits eat it very much. 

 It is a pity that it will not stand our climate. Who knows, 

 however, whether it might not be able to grow down in 

 skane ? [N. Lilja. Skdnes Flora, 1869, p. 512 "Sand 

 Gultorne (Ulex. Europceus Linn) .... Cultivated, 

 very rare, Torup, Alnarp, Broby." J. L.J 



[Kalm was at Little Gaddesden from March 25th to 

 April 15th, 1748.J 



