bulb S fa , ; in /°™ of thc P™ kks 1 °Werved the liquid Aationary, on preffin- fuel, in particular 
I faw moil plainly the liquor afcend to, and flow copioufly from its very extremi v fee fe n 7 p ? ' 
a "™ US „ to le fh th f’ aS 1 fu fPf ae r d . t 1 he P oir ™ mi S ht P r °ceed from an aperture in the Gd/of the fling nea“°he 
point, as in the forceps of the fpider, and tooth of the viper, and where it appears to be placed ratl’er than at 
the extremity, that it may not take off from its neceffary fharpnefs ^ 
t] ] e hand with a n r eedle > 1 placed fome of the juice on the wound, when it inftamly 
inflamed and put on all the appearance of a part flung by a Nettle. * mitantiy 
from lli S ah t e i en tn° br ? Ved ’ th&t ■ as - hand !? . thi * P lant roughly, rarely feel the effefls of its fling ; while other-, 
from Hightly touching it, experience it mall its force; this circumftance is happily exprefTed by Aaron Hill : 
“ Tender-handed Jlroke a Nettle , 
" And it flings you for your pains ; 
“ Urqfp it like a man of mettle , 
" And it foft as filk remains.” 
Notwithflanding its roughnefs and flinging quality, many of the poorer people feeh Nettle-tops in the fpring 
wnh great avidity as a pot-herb neglecting the more luxuriant ihickweed, almoft equal to Ipinach growinf 
perhaps abundantly juft by it; others rehgtoufly put them in diet-drinks at the fame period, ejpeffing to haw 
their whole mafs of blood fo purified as to be free from difeafe for twelve months at leaf! S 
Mr, Lightfoot informs us in his Ft. Scot, that in Arran, and other iflands of Scotland, a rennet is made of 
a ltrong decoction of Nettles ; a quart of fait is put to three pints of the decoffion, and boiled up for ufe - a 
experienced 00 ^ 1 ° f lqU ° r "" COagdate a lar S e bowI of mllk ver y readily, and agreeably, as he faw and 
Tlie ftalk of the Netde is found to have a texture fomewhat like that of Hemp, and to be capable of being 
manufactured into cloth, ropes, and paper. 6 
The old writers on the Materia Medica, are profufe in their encomiums on the virtues of the Nettle as thev 
are on thofe of moft other plants; but, excepting the benefit which may arife from its external application, its 
virtues we apprehend are extremely problematical. 1 
Urtication, or whipping with Stinging-Nettles, is an old pra&ice, and recommended in various diforders 
eipecially lethargy, pally, or numbnefs of any particular limb, rheumatic pains, &c. 
The Nettle is refufed by cattle in general ; hence we often fee paftures, orchards, &c. disfigured by large 
patches of them, which, as the root is perennial and creeping, are every year increafing ; the ao-riculturift who 
wilhes to improve and embelhfh his fields, will lofe no time in extirpating fuch. There are fome, however who 
think differently of this plant; Haller fays, that it affords excellent food for cattle, efpeciallv milch 
cows; that it has even been cultivated, and that advantageoufly, in Sweden for feeding kine. Hall Hi ft p 087 
Though this plant is not remarkably advantageous either to man or beaft, it affords nourifhment to a great 
number of infeCts ; it is the only food of the caterpillars of three of our moft beautiful Butterflies viz 6 the 
Atalanta, Paphia, and Urtica the principal food of a fourth, the Id, which I have this year found alfo on the 
Hop, and the occasional food of a fifth, the C. album, which feeds alfo on the hop and the elm- two of our 
moths alio feed on it, viz. the urticata and the verticalis; befides thefe, which are the principal infers found on 
the Nettle with us, a great number of other mdiferiminate feeders devour its foliage. The bafe of the leaves in 
autumn is extremely liable to be disfigured by tubercles, which, if opened, are found to contain fmall maggots 
which probably produce the Mufca Ur tic at of Linn-eus ; but of this we hope to fpeak with more certainty 
■when we treat of the Urtica pilulifera. r ^ 
Urtica Urens. Small Nettle. 
URTICA urms foliis oppofitis ovalibus. Linn, Syjl. Veg. p. 849. Spec. PI. p. 1006. pi. Suec 867 
S copoh FI. Cam. ed. 2. n. 1174. 
URTICA fexubus fede disjunct is, foliis ovato-lanceolatis, julis oblongis. Hall. Hif. 16 15, 
URTICA minor.- Ger emac. 707. minor annua. J. Bauh , III. 446. urens minor. Bauh, Pin, 222. 
racemifera minor annua. Raii Syn. p. 140. The leffer Stinging-Netde. Hud I FI An A 
p- All* Ligbtf FI. Scot, p, 5 78. ’ 
Differt a dioica, planta tertia parte humiliore ; flori- § Differs from the dioica, in being fcarcely one-third as 
bus monoids ; radice annua, alba ; caulibus ramofiori- V tall; having male and female flowers on the fame plant - 
bus ; foliis multo minoribus et rotundioribus ; ftipulis I the root annual, white ; ftalks much branched • leaves 
vix confpicuis; racemis multo brevioribus, minufque much fmaller and rounder; ftipula; lefs confpicuous ; 
ramofis. | racemi much fhorter in propordon. 
There appears to be no reafon for applying the term urens to this fpecies in particular, as feveral of the others 
are equally pungent. 
Of annual weeds, this Nettle is one of the very worft, efpecially in light, manured foils, each plant producing 
an immenfe number of feeds, and that in a fhorter time than moft others : Parkinson obferves that it will 
beare ripe feed twife in one year ;” the young plants are therefore to be cut up with the hoe as foon as they 
appear. The great advantage of early hoeing cannot be too ftrongly imprefled on the minds of Farmers and 
Gardeners, 
Reference to the Parts of Fruttif cation. 
Ffg. 1. the Calyx of the female flower. Fig. 2. the Calyx of the male flower. Fig. 3. the Stamina. 
Fig, 4. the Piftillum. Fig. 5. the Seed. Fig. 6. the fame magnified. 
