"The Moss Pickers"

Spanish moss, an air-eating relative of the pineapple, grows in all trees in the southern region of the United States except the willow. Although not a parasite, moss serves as a home for colonies of insects.

Indians used moss for loincloths, toy dolls, torches, wraps for patient's legs, and such. Its fibers were spun to produce a rope-like material to make horse blankets, collars, and bridles. The Cajuns of South Louisiana used moss mixed with mud (bousillage) for mud walls in their homes. Commercial gathering of moss began in the middle of the 18th century.

Harvesting was done with long, hooked poles from pirogues or from derrick-like structures mounted on small barges. Harvested trees could regrow their crop in three years. After moss was gathered, it was retted (steeped in water) and turned over and over until the fleshy parts decayed and only the filament remained. Then it was hung on fences to dry. The process took about 2 weeks. Baled moss was shipped to manufacturers for use in chair stuffing and mattresses. In the early 1900's, moss gathering was a large industry for Louisiana until synthetic foam reduced demand. At that time, moss picking was a lucrative way to suppliment a meager income from farming and fishing. The crop of 1927, for example, was valued at 2.5 million dollars, a sizable industry at the time. The crop filled 1,200 railroad cars for furniture, automobile and airplane cushions. The demand for moss in recent years has primarily been by fish hatcheries because it will not decompose in water nor contaminate it.

Today, pollution from autos and petrochemical plants is blamed for killing off the delicate plants; yet moss has reappeared in many areas, carried by birds, winds and water to new locales.

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