138 
ESPARTO AND ITS USES. 
[Nature and Art, May 1, 1867, 
its wiry stem no less than 73 per cent, of fibre, 
eminently suited to their wants. This plant is the 
Gramen spartum, Plinii, Stipa tencicissima, Linn. By 
the Spaniards it is called Esparto, and by the French 
Alfa. It is placed by botanists among the sedges, 
and is indigenous to the southern shores of Portugal, 
Spain, and Italy, as well as to the coast of Northern 
Africa, from Algeria to the confines of Egypt. It 
grows in tufts like a rush, is perennial in habit, 
attains a height of from 18 to 30 inches, according 
to situation, and, having a basis of silica and iron, 
flourishes on arid soil. Its principal habitats, 
however, are Spain and Algeria, from which 
countries a supply sufficient for all present demands 
may be drawn with ease. There is probably no 
pjlant within our knowledge which possesses so 
remarkable a history as that now under review. 
Pliny, that most careful and observant of natural- 
lists, gives a surprisingly accurate description of 
the Spartum, and enumerates the uses to which it 
was put in his day. He speaks of it as a morbid 
production — “ confined to a single country only; for 
in reality it is a curse to the soil, as there is 
nothing whatever that can be grown or sown in its 
vicinity.” He describes the species of spartum 
found in Africa as of stunted growth, of no rise 
whatever for practical purposes ; and, altogether, 
he seems to entertain a very poor opinion of the 
African variety. It is interesting to note the 
similarity of uses found for the plant in the days 
of Pliny to those prevailing in our own. Then, 
as now, the peasantry stuffed their beds with it, 
and, no doubt, obtained as springy a couch as is 
yielded by our own native heather. It was used 
as fuel, made into torches, woven and plaited into 
summer garments for the shepherds, and manu- 
factured into shoes which, under the name of 
Alpargates, are still extensively used by the poorer 
inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula. It was also 
very largely used for cordage ; and we have the 
authority of Mr. M'Culloch for the statement that 
cables made from Esparto, were some years ago — if 
they are not still — preferred in the Spanish navy 
to similar stores made from hemp. Merely to 
enumerate the articles of utility into the construc- 
tion of which Esparto entered, would in fact be a 
recapitulation of the utensils and appliances ap- 
pertaining to the domestic economy and manu- 
facturing industry of the Spaniards and Cartha- 
ginians. Pliny most appropriately designates his 
Gramen spartum a marvellous plant ; and the 
reflection is by no means a flattering one that, 
notwithstanding his painstaking researches, and 
the uninterrupted use of the plant in the same 
districts through centuries of time, we should have 
failed to bring our chemical knowledge to bear on 
its constitutional difficulties, until our need became 
so exigeant as to render further neglect well-nigh 
impossible. 
During the past ten years the French have been 
indefatigable in the prosecution of researches in 
the utilization of Alfa as a paper-making fibre, and 
it is to the savans of that country that we are 
primarily indebted for a knowledge of the economic 
conditions of the plant ; possibly because it grows 
abundantly on a portion of their own territory, the 
natural resources of which the French Government 
are most anxious to develop. The province of 
Oran, in Algeria, is that in which the traffic in 
Alfa is mostly concentrated. There it alternates 
with the Dwarf Palm and Asphodel, and it grows 
luxuriantly from the coast up to the minor peaks 
of the contiguous mountain ranges. The crop 
should be gathered in the months of April, May, 
and June, varying according to the forwardness of 
the season ; the object being to secure the plant 
while yet green, yet as near as possible to ripeness. 
If gathered too green, the fibre is deficient both in 
quantity and strength, whilst if allowed to ripen 
fully, the constituent elements of silica and iron are 
established too securely in its structure. The best 
time for collecting, according to Pliny, is between 
the Ides of May and those of June, a statement 
which has been fully confirmed by, modern practice. 
On the best method of gathering, the ancient 
philosopher is equally in accord with our own 
observations. The plant, he says, is twisted round 
levers of bone or holm oak, to get it up with the 
greater facility. It has been proved experimentally, 
that this is the best mode of reaping the crop, 
having a due regard to the succeeding harvest, as 
cutting not only injures the plant, but altogether 
endangers its vitality, thus rendering the labour of 
collection exceedingly severe, as the workman must 
both pull and stoop as he traverses the ground. 
The modus operandi is very simple. Providing 
himself with a stick of moderate thickness, the 
labourer grasps a handful of Alfa, twists it round 
the stick, and, by a sharp pull with both hands, dis- 
engages the stalks at the articulations. Securing 
the bunch under his left arm, he pulls away until, 
no longer able to hold the produce, he throws it 
down to be tied into a bundle called a Manada, 
and proceeds with his work de novo. These bundles 
are then ranged in the field to dry, a result which 
is usually attained in a week, during which time 
the Alfa loses about 40 per cent, of its weight. The 
bundles, or Manadas, are then packed into bales 
and carried to the port of shipment. It is not 
improbable that, in course of time, the propagation 
of Alfa with a view to increased supply may be 
requisite in places suited to its growth, as it is only 
in particular areas that its preparation for export 
can be conducted, on account of the cost of carriage 
to practicable shipping points on the seaboard. At 
present the demand from England and France is 
exclusively on behalf of the paper manufacture ; 
but should the application of the fibre be extended 
— and there is no reason why it should not be so 
with great advantage, its culture will become an 
important branch of Algerian husbandry. Arrived 
in this country and stored at a paper-mill, the 
Manadas should be ranged so as to allow of the 
roots and tops being pulled, an operation which 
clears the Alfa, from a good deal of waste substance 
adhering more or less to the stalks. It has now 
the appearance- of dried rushes, firm and wiry to 
the touch, and as unlikely-looking a material from 
