In article
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
George Seto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Boo-ain Nah Ran-ick
> Cutting the Ferns/Bracken
> The story which goes with this lovely lullaby is:
[Snip]
Thanks for that, George - most interesting. The article I found
(regarding fern cutting) said
"[Ferns] were used as litter for cattle and...makeshift beds for weary
travellers. Ferns were also used as a compound for manure or for
covering corn stacks...they were also utilised in the ancient craft of
thatching cottage roofs...Ferns, when green and in full fruition, were
also burned to procure an alkali mixture used in...bleaching.
"Most of the work involving fern collecting and its subsequent uses
round the domestic hearth fell to women...One of the most strenuous
tasks involving ferns was carrying them home to remote cottages over
wild landscapes...great bulks were easily carried and practice meant
that women could skilfully and even gracefully skip in an agile fashion
over the greenery and across rushing streams with an almost
lighthearted air..."
--
Nigel Gatherer, Crieff, Scotland
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/gatherer/
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