144 
BRAKE, OR BRACKEN. 
They are not bad fuel, though light and quick-burning ; 
and, cut green, are good manure for land, one-third of 
their bulk, according to Sprengel, consisting of mineral 
substances, potash, silica, lime, soda, chlorine, mag- 
nesia, oxide of iron, phosphoric acid, &c. The dry 
herbage is said to be rich in nitrogen. They are espe- 
cially good for manuring potatoes. Good also for feed- 
ing pigs, who are fond of the ‘roots’ (the underground 
caudices), which are succulent and starchy, and who 
have no objection to a jelly made by boiling the young 
and tender fronds. Mr. Lees suggests that the same, 
not made into jelly, but boiled as greens, would not 
be bad eaten with the pig instead of by him ; and Dr. 
Clarke recommends them when very young, tender, 
and blanched, as a substitute for asparagus. The New 
Zealanders eat the ‘ roots ’ of a variety of the Bracken, 
P. esculenta , pounded between stones and roasted ; in 
Siberia these same stems are used in brewing a kind of 
beer, one-third fern-root to two-thirds malt ; and the 
Rev. M. J. Berkeley speaks of bread made from it, 
‘ better to my taste, and probably not less nutritious, 
than Cassava bread.’ These root-stems are also, on 
account of the quantity of tannin and astringent 
matter contained in them (which, by the way, would 
rather interfere with the asparagus flavour), much 
used abroad in preparing chamois and kid leathers. 
The alkalic properties of the fronds make them useful 
too in soap. Farther, the Bracken is not without a 
medicinal reputation : it is still retained in the Materia 
Medica as a remedy for worms, and a bed of the green 
plant is looked upon by country folk as ‘ the sovereign- 
