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British Isles. It grows to a height of 2–6 ft.; it has hairy stems, and the smaller branches end each in a spine; the leaves, sometimes lanceolate on the lowermost branches, are mostly represented by spines from 2 to 6 lines See also:

long, and branching at their See also:

BASE

base; and the See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers, about three-quarters of an See also:

INCH (O. Eng. ynce from Lat. uncia, a twelfthpart; cf. " ounce," and see As)

inch in length, have a shaggy, yellowish-See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive calyx, with two small ovate bracts at its base, and appear in See also:

early See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring and See also:

LATE

late autumn. They are yellow and sweet-scented and visited by bees. The pods are few-seeded; their crackling as they burst may often be heard in hot See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather. This species comprises the varieties vulgaris, or U. europaeus proper, which has spreading branches, and strong, many-ridged spines, and strictus (Irish furze), with erect branches, and slender 4-edged spines. The other British species of furze is U. nanus, See also:

DWARF (A.S. dweorg, D. dwerg, Icel. dvergr)

dwarf furze, a native of See also:

Belgium, See also:

Spain and the west of See also:

France; it is a procumbent plant, less hairy than U. europaeus, with smaller and more See also:

orange-coloured flowers, which spring from the See also:

PRIMARY

primary spines, and have a nearly smooth calyx, with See also:

minute basal bracts. Furze, or gorse, is sometimes employed for fences. Notwithstanding its formidable spines, the See also:

young shoots yield a palatable and nutritious See also:

winter See also:

FORAGE

forage for horses and See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle. To See also:

fit it for this purpose it must be chopped and bruised to destroy the spines. This is sometimes done in a See also:

PRIMITIVE

primitive and laborious way by laying the gorse upon a See also:

block of See also:

wood and beating it with a See also:

mallet, See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat at one end and armed with crossed See also:

KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife-edges at the other, by the alternate use of which it is bruised and chopped.

There are now a variety of See also:

MACHINES

machines by which this is done rapidly and efficiently, and which are in use where this See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of forage is used to any extent. The agricultural value of this plant has often been over-rated by theoretical writers. In the See also:

case of very poor, dry soils it does, however, yield much valuable See also:

food at a See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season when See also:

green forage is not otherwise to be had. It is on this See also:

account of importance to dairymen; and to them it has this further recommendation, that cows fed upon it give much See also:

rich See also:

MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk, which is See also:

FREE

free from any unpleasant flavour. To turn it to See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good account, it must be sown in drills, kept clean by hoeing, and treated as a See also:

REGULAR

regular green See also:

CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop. If sown in See also:

March, on See also:

LAND

land fitly pre-pared and afterwards duly cared for, it is ready for use in the autumn of the following See also:

YEAR

year. A See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of cuttings of proper See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age is obtained for several years from the same See also:

field. It is cut by a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short stout See also:

SCYTHE

scythe, and must be brought frpm the field daily; for when put in a heap after being chopped and bruised it heats rapidly. It is given to horses and cows in See also:

COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination with chopped See also:

hay or See also:

STRAW

straw. An See also:

acre will produce about 2000 faggots of green two-year-old gorse, weighing 20 lb each. This plant is invaluable in See also:

mountain See also:

sheep-walks. The rounded See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the furze bushes that are met with in such situations shows how diligently the See also:

ANNUAL

annual growth, as far as it is accessible, is nibbled by the sheep.

The food and shelter afforded to them in snowstorms by clusters of such bushes is of such importance that the wonder is our sheep farmers do not bestow more pains to have it in adequate quantity. Young See also:

PLANTS

plants of whin are so kept down by the sheep that they can seldom attain to a profitable See also:

SIZE

size unless protected by a fence for a few years. In various parts of See also:

England it is cut for See also:

FUEL (O. Fr. feuaile, popular Lat. focalia, from focus, hearth, fire)

fuel. The ashes contain a large proportion of See also:

ALKALI

alkali, and are a good manure, especially for peaty land.

End of Article: FURZE, GORSE

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