Gorse

caff

Was reading that gorse was used in the past for fodder, is there a reason this is not used anymore. Surely if it was it would reduce the number of fires started to clear it?

Odelay

caff wrote: »

Was reading that gorse was used in the past for fodder, is there a reason this is not used anymore. Surely if it was it would reduce the number of fires started to clear it?

It needs to be harvested and chopped. It used to be chopped in a hand turned beet chopper.
The difficulty is in harvesting it, can’t be done by machine on mountains. Not viable to do it by hand in modern times.

aphextwit

The inherently thorny nature of gorse might add to the difficulties presented.

Donald Trump

That's mental. Seriously? Furze bushes?

I googled and found this
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/a-bright-future-in-furze-1.1483115

Cut it with a scythe? I mean was it done when it was very young? Would have been more than once or twice I'd have ended up with blisters on the hands from trying to tackle one with a slash hook! Even when it is young and little shoots it's still prickly.


I wonder if it was just some mentaller who wrote it in a book a few hundred years ago and everyone believed him? Or else he visited some fella down the country who was taking the pi$$ out of him and told him they feed it to the cattle?

Say my name

It was mostly a horse feed.

The demise of the work horse with mechanization. Finished off any interest in it.

In all the old auctions of land an inclusion of an acre or half of furze or whins was a bonus.

A nitrogen fixing member of the pea family.

Donald Trump

I'm going to wait til the Summer/Autumn when I hear the pods popping in the heat and then I'll gather up a heap of the seeds.

Will plough a few acres of grass one evening the oul fella is not around for a surprise and sow the furze seeds in it. I'll tell him not to be worrying about silage or thinking about maize or fodder beet or anything like that and to just wait til next year to see what I planted. He'll only be feckin' delighted when he sees them coming up next year :pac:

sonnybill

My cows eat it in winter on the hill

Danzy

Incredible source of minerals and nutrient.

The mineral lick of its day.

CelticRambler

Donald Trump wrote: »

Will plough a few acres of grass one evening the oul fella is not around for a surprise and sow the furze seeds in it. I'll tell him not to be worrying about silage or thinking about maize or fodder beet or anything like that and to just wait til next year to see what I planted. He'll only be feckin' delighted when he sees them coming up next year :pac:

You could do worse! The flowers are supposedly a great cure for depression - if you can't sell them for a fortune on th'internet, at least yourself and the Oul Fella can make tea with them and not be too worried about your investment!

Dinzee Conlee

There was a machine to grind it down, so it was edible to the horses...

The old boy here used to say it was a deadly dangerous job... I think as much because it was viewed as a job the children would do, so there was lots of fingers broken/lost

https://www.irishexaminer.com/video/viral/this-video-will-give-you-a-glimpse-into-the-ireland-of-old-424930.html

_Brian

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

There was a machine to grind it down, so it was edible to the horses...

The old boy here used to say it was a deadly dangerous job... I think as much because it was viewed as a job the children would do, so there was lots of fingers broken/lost

https://www.irishexaminer.com/video/viral/this-video-will-give-you-a-glimpse-into-the-ireland-of-old-424930.html

There was one of them yokes about here. I was told it was for cutting chaff for stuffing chokers for horses.

greysides

AFAIK, the Normans brought it in to feed their horses.

CelticRambler

For those who read French, Google Books has a chapter devoted to gorse (ajonc) in this Journal d'agriculture pratique from 1837 (pp449-553)

A couple of interesting snippets: the writer remarks at the beginning "The more they [countryfolk] cling to their traditions, the more they resist new ideas. It's understandable to think that the idea of using gorse as a forrage plant would surprise them, or have them doubled over with laughter ..." but concludes with his assertion that "one could say, without exageration, that one hectare of productive gorse would be more profitable to the farmer than the same area of managed grassland."

In between the two statements, he points out that gorse is effectively the pig of the plant world - "tout est bon dans le cochon" as the French say, i.e. everything can be used - young plants for winter forrage, older plants for general fertiliser and for improving clay soils, the flowers for medicinal purposes, the wood for household wood-carving (knife handles seems to be the main thing) and as a fast-and-hot burning wood for use in bread-ovens, kilns and other craft ovens, not forgetting the cost-effectiveness of self-healing hedges for fields.

When I've finished clearing my fast-burning brambles, maybe I'll replace them with gorse?

tabby aspreme

CelticRambler wrote: »

You could do worse! The flowers are supposedly a great cure for depression - if you can't sell them for a fortune on th'internet, at least yourself and the Oul Fella can make tea with them and not be too worried about your investment!

The smell and color of the flowers on a wet day in mid winter is very welcome.

Say my name

greysides wrote: »

AFAIK, the Normans brought it in to feed their horses.

I'm not sure how true that is??

https://aliisaacstoryteller.com/2015/04/22/irish-mythology-yellow-gorse/

From the above article. I wonder how did everyone know what day Bealtaine was to be celebrated on? This was in the age before paper calendars and Whatsapp.

I suppose there was some high Druids of Ireland who used astronomy tools such as newgrange or stone circles to get their bearings on time and then the word was sent out on from how many days whence would be Bealtaine.

There's a recipe for Gorse wine in the above article too for anyone who wants to drink themselves sideways off their land.

Perculiar similarity between the words Gorse and the animal it feeds too.

forgottenhills

_Brian wrote: »

There was one of them yokes about here. I was told it was for cutting chaff for stuffing chokers for horses.

I saw an old machine like that in a corner of a shed where I grew up as well. I was told it was for cutting up turnips.

And where I was from no one ever used the word "gorse" - it was whins all the way! And a pain in the butt they were too whenever encountered.

greysides

Say my name wrote: »

I'm not sure how true that is??

Took it from a notice board at a historical site somewhere.

The use of gorse, furze or whin is interesting too. Terms are used in different parts of the country and their origin gives an insight to the history of the area.

Going from memory so open to correction (again), Whin is used a lot in the northern parts of Ireland due to the Scottish influence. Furze is used in areas where there were big estates.. Tipperary, for example. Gorse seems to be used a lot in the SE.

Dinzee Conlee

forgottenhills wrote: »

I saw an old machine like that in a corner of a shed where I grew up as well. I was told it was for cutting up turnips.

And where I was from no one ever used the word "gorse" - it was whins all the way! And a pain in the butt they were too whenever encountered.

Maybe what ye had was a pulper?

Was it something like this ye had maybe?

We had 2 of em when I was small, no idea what happened them. I suspect they went for scrap, or else were robbed...

Say my name

greysides wrote: »

Say my name wrote: »

I'm not sure how true that is??

Took it from a notice board at a historical site somewhere.

The use of gorse, furze or whin is interesting too. Terms are used in different parts of the country and their origin gives an insight to the history of the area.

Going from memory so open to correction (again), Whin is used a lot in the northern parts of Ireland due to the Scottish influence. Furze is used in areas where there were big estates.. Tipperary, for example. Gorse seems to be used a lot in the SE.

Then you have the Irish word for Gorse.

Aiteann.

Giving rise to placenames such as Coolattin, Co. Wicklow.

Cuil Aitinn, corner or nook of gorse.

*There should be a fada above that U. But sure phones.

foxy farmer

Bruising furze I heard it referred to as.
There was one here too once. There was a piece of rough ground where furze was cut and it ended up like bonsai trees. Low growing and very thick foliage.

Lady Haywire

My Dad mentioned about his father sending him out with a bucket to collect the whin petals to be fed to the pregnant mare after a day in the fields.
Not the whole plant, but maybe there was certain nourishment in the flowers & buds too?

You'd see some daft cattle here eating blackberries & sloes. Whatever they're after :pac:

Say my name

Lady Haywire wrote: »

My Dad mentioned about his father sending him out with a bucket to collect the whin petals to be fed to the pregnant mare after a day in the fields.
Not the whole plant, but maybe there was certain nourishment in the flowers & buds too?

You'd see some daft cattle here eating blackberries & sloes. Whatever they're after :pac:

I've eaten some gorse petals today while bringing the cows in for milking after getting inspiration from this thread.

I'm not dead yet...

uck51js9zml2yt

Say my name wrote: »

I've eaten some gorse petals today while bringing the cows in for milking after getting inspiration from this thread.

I'm not dead yet...

Give it time....you'll die one of these days.

I love seeing gorse in flower. Never saw it much in Dublin though and have it all around me now

orchard farm

The old plowman saying under bracken there's gold,under gorse theres sliver,under heather theres famine!

forgottenhills

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Maybe what ye had was a pulper?

Was it something like this ye had maybe?

We had 2 of em when I was small, no idea what happened them. I suspect they went for scrap, or else were robbed...

No it was much older than that machine, an old cast iron construction. All I can remember is the big old cast iron turning wheel with the handle and the sets of intermeshing gears, but it was all seized up, it could have been a hundred years old already when I saw it.

caff

Odelay wrote: »

It needs to be harvested and chopped. It used to be chopped in a hand turned beet chopper.
The difficulty is in harvesting it, can’t be done by machine on mountains. Not viable to do it by hand in modern times.

Suprised there's no machine nowadays that could cut and pulp it for feed.

BarryD2

I've heard from older farmers of this use of furze. They talked of 'fur machines' - each farm grew a plot of furze, kept it low and with fresh shoots, this was cut regularly (mowed I think) and the spines were milled in a 'fur machine' with rollers and cogs. This was fed to horses, must contain some useful vitamins, minerals etc. Some of these implements are in Johnstown museum I think http://www.irishagrimuseum.ie/

The Furry Field, Furry Hill or Furry Brow etc. would all be places known for furze or gorse, whins etc. The timber of the old bushes were also cut and collected into 'fag*ots' and burned hot, used for baking bread, drying grains I think.

Edit: have to laugh at the language checker here, which doesn't like the word fag*ot as in a bundle of sticks. PC gone mad..

Say my name

caff wrote: »

Suprised there's no machine nowadays that could cut and pulp it for feed.

The thing is cut gorse would have to be used straightaway or else it just dries out and turns to dust.
Coupled that it was fed to cobs and workhorses that would fatten on a twig.
I doubt the racehorse trainers today would be willing to take the risk from a poorly chopped gorse mix that could occur.
I know it'd be soft stuff but still.