986 The Destruction of Stinging Nettles, [march, 



This will give in each case a dressed carcass of from 3 to 

 4 lb., though perhaps 3J lb. in the first case would be rather 

 more convenient. It must be remembered that the class of 

 buyers who purchase well-fed table rabbits would look with 

 more or less disfavour on a carcass of 5 or 6 lb., as they 

 would regard it as likely to be an old rabbit. 



Some poultry dealers prefer to take the rabbits alive, 

 killing as they require, and in this case it is customary for 

 the producer to deduct 1 lb. from the live weight of each 

 rabbit for pelt and offal. The price should not be less than 

 6d. per lb. when selling to the retailer, and this allows the 

 latter to sell again at yd., 8d. y or gd. per lb., according to 

 demand, &c. The small holder will also often be able to 

 sell direct to the retail shops, or, better still, to the consumer. 



Two of our native species of "stinging" nettles are com- 

 monly troublesome in field and garden. One, Urtica dioica 

 L., is a tall perennial with creeping 

 The Destruction of rootstock, and occurs in arable and 



Stinging Nettles. g raS s land alike. The other, U. urens 

 L., is a much shorter plant, is an 

 annual, and occurs chiefly in arable land. 



The Great Stinging Nettle (U. dioica L.) is a pubescent 

 perennial 2-4 ft. or more in height, and covered with 

 stinging hairs which may cause severe pain on piercing the 

 skin of man. The leaves are ovate-cordate or lanceolate, 

 pointed, serrated or toothed, 2-4 in. long, stalked, and placed 

 opposite one another on the stem in pairs. The small green 

 flowers occur in panicles 1-3 in. in length which spring in 

 pairs from the axils of the leaves, the male panicles being 

 loose- and the female dense-flowered. Flowering takes place 

 during the summer months — June to September. The stems 

 may be single or branched. The rootstock is extensively 

 creeping, and thus, together with reproduction by seeds, this 

 weed is able rapidly to invade land on which it has once 

 become well established. This nettle appears to grow well on 

 most kinds of soil, but is most prolific on land in good 

 condition, whether arable or grass. It is a serious pest as to 



