Slios Bruguaine

Background: Fibers become thread when a spinner or splicer twists them so that they lock together. Twist can be created by simply rolling a length of fibers down one's thigh or between one's fingers. The invention of a stick to wrap up the spun thread, to keep it from un-twisting, is a logical next step--and then twirling that stick to generate the needed twist comes naturally out of that invention, thus giving us the spindle. A distaff and three spindles. Left: a spindle with bone whorl. Center: a spindle with the whorl removed once the cop of thread was heavy enough. Right: a spindle design that does not need a whorl. A spindle can be as simple as a straight stick, often shaved down to a point where the spinner's fingers will twirl it (a stick with a narrower diameter = more rotations per flick with the fingers). However, a weighted stick has more momentum and will twirl longer, so adding a weight (like a small rock, with a hole in it for the stick to fit through)...

Charring Wood as a Preservative Treatment To read about what charcoal is, see  The History of Charcoal . To read about the mound method of producing charcoal, see  Charcoal Clamps , and to read about the underground method, see  Pit Kilns . To read about other uses for charcoal, see Micro-Charring .  Char chemically changes wood, making it more resistant to rot, insects and fire damage, and can be done easily at home without specialized equipment. Background In temperate regions, wood posts are likely to rot, particularly at the line where they protrude from the ground. The denser the wood, the slower the rot (which is why locust wood makes good fence posts), and certain species of tree can contain chemicals that fight mold and insect damage, but here in the mid-Atlantic region of the US, these are not enough. Even cedar posts rarely last longer than 20 years without treatment. Locust posts frequently survive 10 years, and other hardwood species last...

The History and Sustainability of Coppicing  Part 4: Hedges  To read about other forms of coppicing, see Coppicing: Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3 . Definition Hedges are lines of closely planted trees that form a barrier by growing together thickly. Fedges are living fences of trees, planted closely like a hedge, but carefully pruned to keep the trunks open and visible (the trunks are often woven in some aesthetically pleasing pattern). Hedges frequently reach 6' thick, and are allowed to grow with minimal edge-pruning for years at a time between pleachings. Fedges must be pruned yearly and only their tops become brushy and thick. History Hedges are as old as pasture divisions, and remain in use today. In WW2, hedge-rows in Europe were so old, well-rooted and impenetrable that they were able to stop tanks, and had to be blasted out of the way for machinery to get through. Unlike stone walls and wattle fences, hedges become stronger and better at containing livestock...

The History and Sustainability of Coppicing  Part 3 of 4: Pollarding Definition A pollard is like a coppice, except that the tree must be trained to the purpose from a relatively young age, and the above-ground section of tree is not completely removed. Instead, the tree is allowed to retain the first section of trunk and sometimes a few side-branches. Then, the annual growth is cut and harvested every winter—or, in the case of fruit tree pollarding, new growth is pruned away during the growing season. Pollarding is designed for a pastoral system or a domestic yard, rather than a forest system. The goal of a pollard is to combine livestock pasture, or home and garden areas, with useful wood or fruit production (especially slender withes for making baskets or wattle), all with a minimum of risk to the tree and to the human settlement. A pollard is kept artificially short, so that it never reaches a dangerous height (it cannot fall on structures or fences or livestock), ...

The History and Sustainability of Coppicing  Part 2 of 4: Coppicing  Definition Coppicing is the practice of cutting deciduous hardwood poles again and again from the same stool. Generally, the cutting must occur in freezing weather, to be certain that the sap will be below-ground and will keep the roots alive. A tree, managed this way, will learn to heal the cuts quickly and become better at growing the next batch of shoots efficiently. A good way to remember how coppicing works is this short couplet: If the roots survive, the tree is alive! Selecting a tree The process begins with a mature tree. The root system, below-ground, must be large enough to contain sufficient energy to regrow an above-ground tree after the above-ground section is completely removed. If the tree is too young (say, a 2-yr-old sapling), it may not have enough strength built up to recover from the initial trauma of the cutting. The tree should also not be too old. When a tree has developed and gro...