BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 119 
According to Langethal (“ Pflanzenkunde,” 1853, 3. 38), “the sting- 
ing nettle supplies through its fibre a useful cloth, and the young 
plants afford a palatable kind of greens. ‘The shoots can be used as 
fodder, also, until the beginning of June, and not be allowed to grow as 
a fibre plant until after that date.” 
According to Beckmann’s “ Beitriige zur Gikonomie” &c., 1783, 
7.17, it was a practice in Mecklenburg to feed young geese upon 
crushed nettle plants in the morning before they were driven to the 
fallow fields; and again in the evening the geese received a mixture of 
crushed nettles and bran. 
In the “New England Farmer,” 1827, 5. 186, and 1831, 9. 206, 
the Bavarian Agricultural Society is credited with the report that “ the 
nettle fattens horned cattle whether eaten green or dried; it not only 
fattens calves but improves their flesh; sheep which eat it bring forth 
healthy vigorous lambs; it promotes the laying of eggs in hens and 
improves the fat of pigs.” The “New England Farmer,” for 1828, 6. 
341, reports from a foreign paper that “the leaves are employed for 
feeding poultry, especially in the winter; when boiled, they promote 
the laying of eggs. In a fresh state, the leaves are refused by horses 
sheep, goats, cows, and hogs, though asses devour them eagerly ; but, 
when dry, they are eaten by cows, for which they are an excellent food, 
increasing the quantity and improving the quality of their milk.” 
Such fodder is thought to promote the health of the animals. 
The sample analyzed was collected May 22, 1876, in a moist. mow- 
ing field, not far from the Bussey Institution. The plants were grow- 
‘ing close to a stone-wall: they consisted of young shoots from six to 
eighteen inches tall. Apple-trees were in blossom at the time the 
plants were gathered. The entire plants, as collected, were cut into 
short pieces and dried upon a water-bath, and the dried material was 
ground to a homogeneous powder. ‘The analyses consequently refer 
to a mixture of leaves and stems. The results of the analyses were 
as follows : — 
Nettle Plant. Green. Dried at 110° C, 
SE 
mem (iree irom C & CO,).... . . . . . 2.80 13.14% 
i ee 7.) 31.32 
Carbohydrates (including fat) . . . . 7.80 44.39 
Cellulose (freefrom ash) . .... . 1.96 11.15 
100.00 100.00 
