Its abundance. Places adapted congenial to the process, and that most suitable to the different purposes to which I thought them applicable. The result of my experiments has deeply impressed upon my mind, that they may be made subservient to national utility, particularly at the present period, when our foreign commerce is so generally impeded, and in consequence our supplies of foreign hemp and flax nearly annihilated. I beg leave to observe, that the growth of nettles is general, in every country, particularly in strong fertile soils, that on every bank, ditch, and place, which cannot be brought to tillage, they are produced in such abundance, that the quantity, if collected, would be of great magnitude. The growth of them might be encouraged in such waste to its growth. places, or a vast quantity of land of that description might, at a moderate expense, be made to produce a valuable crop of a useful article heretofore regarded as a nuisance. The shady places in woods, parks, and coppices, are particularly favourable to their growth; I have found them in such situations in the greatest perfection in point of length and Answers every fibre. The harl, or fibre of them, is very similar to that of hemp or flax, inclining to either according to the soil and different situations in which they grow. I have ascertained, as far as I have been able to proceed, that they may be substituted for every purpose for which hemp or flax is used, from cloth of the finest texture down to the coarsest quality, such as sailcloth, sacking, &c., and for cordage. purpose of hemp or flax. Material for paper. Another very material use, the magnitude of which, I trust, will be duly estimated, is, that they may be applied to the manufactory of paper of various qualities. The impediments to foreign commerce have lately deprived us of a supply of linen rags, and occasioned a general use of cotton rags in the paper manufactory, which is injurious to the preservation of the most valuable works in literature, to the truth of which the observation of every one must bear testimony, who has attended to the depreciated quality of writing and printing papers, That the produce of nettles, and the refuse of them from the manufactory, may easily be converted into writing, printing, and all inferior sorts of paper, I feel confidently assured. assured. For the purpose of writing and printing paper they might be gathered twice in one season, as for these uses the length of staple is not required, and the fibre would be considerably increased in its fineness; and in point of colour, either in the refuse or unwrought state, the chemical process of bleaching now in practice would render them a delicate white. I have in possession some samples, which have gone through a succession of processes similar to what are practised on hemp and flax; and I have, without the aid of any implements, brought them to a state of preparation ready for the hackle; but for want of that, and there being no flax or hemp manufactory in this neighbourhood, I have not been able to proceed farther, but I judge that they are suf ficiently advanced so as amply to evince the practicability, above referred to. If you think proper, I will transmit the samples for the Society's inspection, and give any farther information in my power. Permit me the honour to subscribe myself, Sir, March 24, 1809. SIR, EDWARD SMITH. I am much obliged to the Society for their reference of Prize on the subject offered my communication to one of their Committees. About ten by the Society years subsequent to my first observations, and three to my at Haërlem. first experiments, I observed the following paragraph in the Chelmsford Chronicle, November 25, 1803. "The Society of Economy, at Haërlem, has offered prizes for the best memoir as to the particular species, the season for gathering, and the manipulation necessary in preparing nettles for use." This is the only account I have ever seen of them, and shows that such a matter was regarded as de◄ serving the attention of that Society; but as I from the first had it in contemplation to present my observations on the subject to the Society of Arts &c., and thinking the matter of great consequence, and wishing my own country to be benefited by it, I declined answering the Harlem advertisement, 1 My discovery of the properties of the nettle is original, and arose entirely from my own observations on the apparent resemblance to hemp and flax, which I remarked they had when growing. I now transmit to you some samples, in different states, for the Society's inspection. I have the honour to be, with great respect, March 28, 1809. SIR, Your most humble servant, I have now the honour to transmit to the Society my farther progress, viz. A sample of yarn prepared from the coarsest part of the nettle produce, which I deemed less liable to be injured for want of knowledge in the manufacturing than the finer qualities. Since my former letters I have been bleaching some of the nettle flax, and have brought it to so good a colour, that a preparation from it would produce paper perfectly white, and I have caused a sample of yarn to be made from the nettle produce, both of which I have sent. I likewise enclose an improved specimen of paper made from the same substance; also a preparation for paper, a part of the same sample the enclosed was made from, which is, of course, much inferior to what would be done by a paper manufacturer. These samples having been made by such rough instruments as were constructed by my own hands, and which of course the Society will consider. I remain respectfully, Sir, Nov. 18, 1809. Your obliged humble servant, EDWARD SMITH. The following Specimens, produced from Nettles by Mr. Samples of the fibres, in their rough state, resembling different kinds of hemp and flax. Samples of the fibres equal to the finest flax, and remarkably strong in texture. Samples of very strong yarn, prepared from the coarsest fibres. Samples A Samples of coarse paper, prepared from the rough refuse. fibres. Samples of the coarse fibres bleached white. Samples of a coarse substance resembling cotton prepared from the bleached coarse fibres. Samples of white paper prepared by him from the lastmentioned substance. Mr. SMITH'S Process for preparing various Articles from Nettles. The most nettle. The kind of nettle capable of being manufactured into The kind of cloth, &c., it is scarcely necessary to say, is that which in general is denominated the stinging nettle. valuable sort, which many years practical experience has Best sort. furnished me with a knowledge of, in regard to length, suppleness, fineness of the lint, brittleness of the reed, which dresses most freely, with less waste of fibre, and yields the greatest produce of long and fine strong harl, I have found growing in the bottom of ditches among briars, and in shaded valleys, where the soil has been a blue clay or strong loam, but from which situations I have selected some which have measured more than twelve feet in height, and upwards of two inches in circumference. Plants growing in the situations above described are in general from five to nine feet in height, and those growing in patches on a good soil, standing thick, and in a favourable aspect, will average in height about five feet and a half, will work kindly, and the stems are thickly clothed with lint. Those that grow Worst nettles. in poorer soils, and in less favourable situations, with rough and woody stems, and have many lateral branches, run much to seed, are stubborn, and work less kindly; they produce lint more coarse, harsh, and thin. In every situa- Marks of the tion and different soil I have experienced the most produc- best. tive nettles to be those which have the smoothest and most concave tubes, the largest joints, the fewest leaves, and which produce the least quantity of seed. In gathering them, as they are perennial plants, I have They should preferred the mode of cutting them down, instead of pulling be cut. them up by the roots. This I recommend to be the practice, with a view to obtain a second crop where the situations Time of gathering. Treatment after gather ing. will allow of it, and to secure the propagation of them the subsequent year, The most favourable time for collecting them is from the beginning of July to the end of August, but it may be continued even to the end of October, only the lint of those which remain growing to that time will be less supple, and will not work so freely; and if the season happens to be unfavourable, it is probable there would not be sufficient time to steep and grass them, in which case they should be dried by the heat of the atmosphere, or if the state of the weather would not permit of this, then by means of artificial heat; and when dried they should be housed or stacked till the spring, when they might successfully undergo the same operation of steeping as those of the first collection. Such as grow in grass fields, where the grass is intended for hay, should be cut when the hay is cut, in order to prevent their being spoiled by the cattle when feeding; the harls of which would be fine in quality, and well suited to be wrought up with the second crop, and which crop may be obtained after those of the first cutting, where the situation will admit of their being preserved. The fine quality of such I ascertained last autumn, and found the height of them to average three feet and a half; they were gathered the latter end of November. The following are the processes adopted by me. After the nettles are gathered they should be exposed to the atmosphere till they gain some firmness, in order to prevent the skin from being damaged in the operations of dressing off the leaves, the lateral branches, and seeds. This should be done a handful at a time; and afterward they should be sorted, viz. those which are both long and fine by themselves, those which are both long and coarse by themselves, and those which are short and coarse by themselves; then made up into bundles as large as can be grasped with both hands, a convenient size for putting them into the water, and taking them out; a place for this purpose being previously prepared, either a pond or a pit free from mud, or a brook or river. The bundles should then be immersed, and placed aslant with the root end uppermost, and to prevent their floating on the surface some weight should be laid upon them. The |