oolly substance is fine or coarse, and is employed as
wadding in the one case, and in the other as stuffing for mattresses.
Such, in a few words, is an explanation of Mr Pannewitz's discovery.
He has preferred the _Pinus sylvestris_ to other species because of
the greater length of its spines; but there is reason to believe, that
it is not the only kind which may be worked with advantage.

There is said to be no danger in stripping the trees, even while
young, as they only need the whorl of spines to be left at the
extremity of each branch, in order to continue their growth; all the
other leaves may be removed without damage. The gathering should take
place while they are in their green state, for at no other time can
the woolly substance be extracted. This operation, which takes place
but once in two years, affords employment and pretty good wages to a
number of poor people, some of whom will collect two hundred pounds in
a day. The yield from a branch of the thickness of the finger is
estimated at one pound, and a beginner will strip thirty such branches
in a day. In the case of felled trees, the work proceeds with great
rapidity.

The first use made of the filamentous matter, was to substitute it for
the wadding used in quilted counterpanes. In 1842, five hundred
counterpanes so prepared were purchased for the use of the hospital at
Vienna; and, after an experience of several years, the purchase has
been renewed. It was remarked, among other things, that the influence
of the _wood-wool_ prevented parasitic insects from lodging in the
beds, and the aromatic odour arising from it had been found as
beneficial as it was agreeable. Shortly afterwards, the Penitentiary
at Vienna was provided with the same kind of quilts; and they have
since been adopted--as well as mattresses filled with the same
wool--in the Hospital de la Charite at Berlin, and in the Maternity
Hospital and barracks at Breslau. A trial of five years in these
different establishments has proved, that the wood-wool can be very
suitably employed for counterpanes, and for stuffed or quilted
articles of furniture, and that it is very durable.

It was found that, at the end of the five years, a wood-wool mattress
had cost less than one made of straw, as the latter requires an
addition of two pounds of new straw every year. In comparison with
horsehair, it is three times cheaper; it is safe from the attack of
moth, and in a finished sofa no upholsterer would