Passage 3/15

simon66 — 3 years ago

The Stramma, or Ampelodesmus plant, is usually found in dry areas near the coast and is common on the arid terraces of Italy. It requires dry or moist soil and cannot grow in the shade. It has strong leaves up to 1 metre long and 7mm wide, these leaves are coarse and sharp. The Stramma can be collected at any time during the year. During the collection the fibres are bound up (they are called fasce de stramma) and then they need to be dried before the manufacturing process. When the fibres are dried the stramma is beaten to be softened. Stramma Leaves were also considered a good mattress- filler, while reeds, bracken or seaweed were suitable choices in some regions. The Roman writer Pliny reported that spartum or esparto grass was used in Spain 2000 years ago, and this continued into the 19th century. A simple sack, called a tick, is all that most mattress covers have ever been. Canvas woven from hemp, also called ‘hurden’ or tow, was a likely choice for the tick before machine-woven cottons took over. Dora recalls that these mattresses had a life of only 3 or 4 months before losing their softness.