Equisetum . ] 
FERNS. 
81 
Des. — Root black, branched. Stems erect, of a very dark green, 
without whorls of branches, but forked and divided at the base, 2 to 
3 feet high, regularly and numerously furrowed. Sheaths 2 to 3 
inches distant from each other, very closely pressed to the stem, 
short, with a black rim at the top and bottom of each. Teeth of 
the scales black and deciduous. 
It is surprising that this plant, so valuable in a general as well as a commercial 
point of view, is not cultivated along our sandy coasts, where it would grow 
luxuriantly and rapidly, forming a strong embankment, and yielding a considerable 
profit. The Dutch are well acquainted with the value of its long and matted 
roots in restraining the wasting effects of the ocean, which would soon undermine 
their dykes were it not for the Equisetum hyemale which is planted upon them. 
At the proper season it is cut down and exported to other countries, where its 
naked and flinty stems are used for polishing domestic utensils, furniture, marble, 
&c. It is here sold as Dutch rush (not Dutch rushes, which are Scirpus glaucus, 
or sometimes Scirpus palustris ; the former being used for the bottoms of chairs, 
the latter by coopers to stop leakages). 
So abundant is the silex upon both the inner and outer cuticle of the stem, that 
it is said the whole of its vegetable matter may be removed without destroying 
the shape of the plant. Every part of it is a very beautiful object under the 
microscope. 
Sit. — In woods and boggy places ; rather rare, particularly in the South. 
Hab. — Eng. : Hawthorn Dean, Durham, Mr. T. H. Cooper. Scotswood Dean, 
near Newcastle, Mr. Boivman. Near Over, Cheshire, Mr. W. Wilson. Common 
near Halifax, Mr. R. Ley land. In a dell at Bitterley, below the Clee Hills, Salop. 
Forge Valley, near Scarborough, Yorkshire. In a small stream at the bottom of 
Grace Dieu Wood, Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Rev. A. Bloxam. South 
Kent, Rev. G. E. Smith. — Wales : Near Wrexham, Mr. J. E. Bowman. — Scot. : 
Edinburgh, in the stream just below Roslin Castle, Mr. H. C. Watson. Moray 
and Ross-shire, Rev. G. Gordon. Wood at Cora Linn, Lanarkshire, Mr. C. C. 
Babington. — Ire. : Tyrone, Mr. Shuttleworth. Wood at Leixlip Castle, near 
Dublin. Powerscourt, and around Dublin, Mr. Mac/cay. 
Geo. — All Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. From Canada to Virginia, and 
in Asia. 
