The uses of the elder are more numerous than those of most other shrubs. There is scarcely any part of this shrub which has not been advantageously employed in some way or other. The wood is yellow, and, in old trees, becomes so hard that it will take a polish almost as bright as that of box ([232]); and, indeed, it is often used as a substitute for box-wood. Its toughness also is such that it is made into skewers for butchers, tops for fishing rods, and needles for the weaving of nets. It is likewise employed by turners.
Sir J. E. Smith has remarked that this tree is, as it were, a whole magazine of physic to rustic practitioners, and that it is not quite neglected even by professional men. Ointments have been made of the green inner bark, and of the leaves. The dried flowers, infused in water, are used in fomentations, or as tea: and, mixed with butter-milk, they are sometimes employed as a wash for the face; and the clusters of flowers, before they open, may be made into a delicious pickle, to eat with boiled mutton. The berries are boiled into a rob, which is useful in sore throats, colds, and hoarsenesses. In addition to their medicinal services, the leaves are sometimes thrown into the subterraneous paths of moles, under an impression that their smell will drive away those noxious animals. If turnips, cabbages, fruit trees, or corn, all of which are subject to blight from various kinds of insects, be strongly whipped with the green leaves and branches of elder, insects will not attack them; and an infusion of the leaves is sometimes sprinkled by gardeners over the buds of such flowers as they wish to preserve from the devastation of caterpillars. Elder flowers have an agreeable flavour, which they impart, in distillation, to water: they are likewise used to give a flavour to vinegar. The berries are poisonous to poultry, but their juice, properly fermented, makes a pleasant and wholesome wine; and, in Germany, a very pure and strong spirit is distilled from them. The juice of elder berries is sometimes employed to give a red colour to raisin or other sweet wine. The young shoots of this shrub are filled with an exceedingly light pith, which is cut into balls for electrical experiments; and is also made into toys for the amusement of children.
The elder will grow and thrive in almost any soil and situation; but, as every part of this shrub has an unpleasant narcotic smell, people ought to be cautious not to sleep under its shade, as, in such case, it might prove of serious injury to them.
TETRAGYNIA.
97. FLAX is the produce of an annual plant (Linum usitatissimum, Fig. 37), with spear-shaped leaves, and blue flowers, which is cultivated in several parts of Great Britain, and grows wild in corn-fields and sandy pastures of some of the southern counties.
The stems of these plants rise to the height of about two feet. The seed vessels and leaves of the calyx are sharp pointed, and the flowers have each five scolloped petals.
It is supposed that we were originally indebted for this plant to those parts of Egypt which are annually inundated by the Nile; but the time of its introduction into this country is unknown. Its utility is incalculable. To it we are indebted for the linen we wear, for our sheets, table-cloths, and numerous other indispensable articles of clothing and domestic economy; and although cotton might, in some degree, supply its place, those persons who have been accustomed to the comforts of linen would be little desirous of the exchange.
The cultivation of flax is pursued to considerable extent in some parts of the British dominions. The seed imported from Riga and Holland is generally, though perhaps erroneously, esteemed the best. It is sown in March or April; and the plants, when nearly ripe, are pulled up by the roots. These, if flax and not seed be the object of the crop, are either placed in small parcels upon the surface of the land, for exposure to the sun, to dry; or they are immediately conveyed to the place where they are to undergo the process called watering. For this purpose they are loosely tied in small bundles, placed in pools or ponds of soft and stagnant water, and allowed to continue there several days. By the fermentation which takes place, the bark or flaxy substance becomes separated. They are then taken out, and thinly spread upon the grass, in regular rows. Here they are occasionally turned until they have become so brittle, that, on being rubbed between the hands, the flax easily and freely separates from the stalks. They are taken up, and bound in sheaves, to be either sent to a mill, or to be broken and scuttled, as it is called, by a machine contrived for that purpose.
The flax, by the above process, having been separated from the stalks, it subsequently undergoes various dressings, according to the purposes for which it is to be used.
When the plants have been grown for seed, they are pulled as before, and then laid together by handfuls upon the ground, with the seed ends towards the south, that they may be the better exposed to the sun. The next operation is to force off the seed vessels. For this purpose a large cloth is usually spread on some adjacent and convenient spot of ground, and an instrument, called a ripple, is placed in the middle of it. This is a sort of comb, consisting of six, eight, or ten, long, triangular, upright teeth. The seed ends of the flax are pulled repeatedly through the teeth of the comb, by which the parts containing the seed are removed from the stalks. After this the pods and seeds, which have the name of line-seeds, are spread upon a cloth in the sun to dry, and subsequently are threshed, sifted, winnowed, and cleansed. The best seed is generally preserved for sowing, and the second sort yields considerable profit in the oil which is obtained from it by pressure. This, which is called linseed oil, is equally useful in the arts and in medicine. It is occasionally employed for making the soap called green soap. If heat be applied during the pressure of the seeds, the oil attains a yellowish colour and a peculiar smell, and, in this state, it is used by painters and varnishers. An infusion of the seed, in the manner of tea, is recommended in coughs; and from the seed is also made an useful kind of poultice for external inflammations.