COMMON BRAKES. 
95 
This is not only the most abundant, but the most useful of 
our British Ferns. “ If cut while green, and left to rot upon 
the ground, it is a good improver of the land : * * it is an 
excellent manure for potatoes, and if buried beneath their roots 
it never fails to produce a good crop : ^ * it makes a brisk 
fire for the purposes of brewing and baking. * ^ In many 
of the western isles [of Scotland], the people gain a very consi- 
derable profit by the sale of the ashes to soap and glass-makers.”* 
Mr. Bladon, of Pont-y-pool, informs us that “ in many of the 
open mountainons parts of Wales, where it grows abundantly, 
the Brakes is cut down in the summer, and, after being well 
dried, is burned by the cottagers in large heaps, for the sake of 
the alkali contained in the ashes : w^hen sufficiently burned, 
enough water is sprinkled on the ashes to make them adhere 
together, when they are rolled into round balls, about two inches 
or two-and-a-half in diameter. These balls are thoroughly 
dried, and carried about the neighbourhood where they are made, 
for sale in the markets ; and they are also frequently kept by 
shopkeepers, to supply their customers. The price of these 
balls varies in different seasons, from 3c?. to 8c?. per dozen. 
They are very much prized by some housewives, for their utility 
in the wash-house, in economizing the use of soap. When 
about to be used they are put into the fire, and when heated to 
a red heat, are taken out and thrown into a tub of water : the 
water in the course of an hour or so, becomes a strong ley, and 
is then fit for use.”t 
As a litter for horses “fern” is in great request in many parts of 
Wales, Scotland and Ireland. While wandering among the 
mountains of Wales, I have continually met with sleighs, drawn 
by a ragged pony, and laden with Pteris by an industrious 
Welshwoman . when thus collected, it is not only used for litter, 
but is also chopped up when dry, and mixed with straw or hay, 
and given in the winter to the little horses and mules kept for 
working on the tram-roads. In Scotland, particularly in the 
western Flighlands, I often noticed it in use as a thatch for cot- 
tages ; and Lightfoot remarks, — “ In Glen Elg, in Invernesshire, 
* Lightfoot’s Flora Scotica, ii. 658. 
t Mag. Nat. Hist. ii. s. iv. 242. 
