Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/384

352&#93; sA FUR. Furze is likewise employed for heating ovens, as it burns rapidly, auJ emits a great degree of heat ; when consumed, its ashes are used for a ley, which is of considerable service in washing coarse linen. This plant is also eminently adapted to the formation offences, especially on the banks of rivers ; as by its close and prickly branches it retains the collected earth, and is more easily procured than fag- gots. An instance of this fact oc- curs in the52d vol. of the Philoso- phical Transactions of the Royal Society, for the year 1761, where it is stated, that locks and dam- heads may be raised at one- tenth part of the usual expence, by means of furze; for a thin perpendicular wall of stone and lime, or a wall of deal boards two inches thick, is the dearest part of the whole work. Close to such a wall, on the interior side, is formed a mound of furze, intermixed with gravel, six or seven yards in breadth ; and a long beam, equal with the highest part of the mound, is laid on the top. It is affirmed that Such a dam cannot be injured by the weight of the water, or the fence of the current, nor will the pressure of the mud and gravel cause it to separate, as their weigh 6 is suspended by the intertwining of the furze. If, therefore, the beam on the top of the wall be fixed, the whole fence will be linn, and effectually prevent any afieideat that might happen from the burst- ing of the bank. Another purpose to which whins or furze have been applied, is that qf a ferfge fw hedges. With this view, a bank should be raised five or six feet broad at the top, w ith a proper dit< h on each side, the sur- face of which ought to be thickly FUS sown with furze-seeds. These will" quicklv grow, and in the course of two or three years form a barrier, through which few animals will be able to break : such a fence will continue in a state of perfection for several years. But, as the furze advances in size, the old prickles decay ; thus leave the lower parts of the stems naked, and afford a passage to animals. To remedy this inconvenience, the bank ought progressively to be stored with new plants, which should never be al- lowed to ascend to such a height as to become bare below ; so that if one side of the hedge be cut down close to the bank, the other half may remain as a fence till the former attains a proper size ; when the opposite side may be cut down in a similar manner. Thus, the bank will continually have a strong hedge upon it, without ever be- coming naked at the root. — Lastly, the fresh and dried flowers of this plant afford, in dyeing, a fine yel- low colour. There is a variety of this species, which has, within tbesefew years, been cultivated in England, and is called French Furze. It thrives on a poor sand)- soil, and is cut every third year,, in the month of Febru- ary: the instruments should be sharp, and applied as closely to the ground as possible. An acre of land, sown with this furze, will yield between four and live thou- sand faggots, which are chierly consumed iu the heating of ovens. FUSTIC, or Fustook, is the Dyes' s Mulei.rry-tivKi:, ovMo- rus HnSloria, L. a native of the West Indies, whence it is brought to this country. It is used by dyers in tinging cloths of a yellow colour ; for which purpose it is allowed bv the 8th Geo. I. c. 15, s. 10, tu-