FIBRES OF JAMAICA. 337 
the Chinese can boast of. I have not the slightest doubt as to its 
perfect adaptability to this climate and soil, and in the course of a few 
years it may become a weed. The Antiaris is the notorious Upas-tree 
of Java, about whose virulent properties so many fabulous statements 
have appeared from time to time. The Pandanus variegatus is another 
addition to our textile plants, and one of the most noble and beautiful 
plants that ever adorned a garden; the others on the list are chiefly 
new and interesting, collected in many parts of the world, and selected 
for this climate. 
By the acquisition of these plants, we can now boast of possessing 
the finest fibres and the greatest number of textile plants in the world, 
hitherto of no avail to the country in general, and held of little value 
by individuals, but which may now be turned to the greatest account 
in a national point of view; the universal demand and scarcity of Fibre, 
its high and daily increasing price, rendering the materials from which 
it is manufactured of the highest importance. We have many indige- 
nous and eminently textile plants diffused over the island, but partially 
or not at all known to be applicable for textile purposes, except to a. 
few gentlemen acquainted with the botany of the country. I have 
therefore prepared for general information fifty-one samples of Fibres, 
the greater part of which are indigenous; as you will observe by the 
following list comprising them :— 
Yucca gloriosa. Adam's Needle, 5—6 feet. Agave Americana. American Aloe. 
Yucca aloifolia, Common Dagger. Canna Indica. Indian shot. 
Bromelia Karatas. Silk-grass leaves, 10- Triumfetta semitriloba. Common Bur- 
12 feet. bark—a weed. 
Bromelia Pinguin. Pinguin. Malvaviscus arboreus. Bastard or Wild 
Ananas sativa. Pine-apple. Mahoe. 
Musa sapientum. Banana. Abroma augusta. Abroma. 
» var. Martinique Banana. Kydia calycina. Tree, 25 feet. 
» paradisiaca. Plantain. Helicteres Jamaicensis. Screw-tree. 
» Cavendishii, Chinese Plantain. Guazuma ulmifolia. Bastard Cedar. —— 
» violacea, Violet-flowered Plantain. Kleinhofia hospita. Tree, 25-30 feet. — 
coccinea, Scarlet-flowered Plantain. Sida sp. Shrub, 6-8 feet. B 
Heliconia Bihai. Wild Plantain. Ockroma lagopus. Down-tree. 
»  Brasiliensis. Ditto of Brazil. Cecropia peltata. Trumpet-tree. — 
»  psittacorum. Parrot-beaked do. Cordia Sebestena. Scarlet Cordia. 
Tillandsia serrata. Wild Pine (epiphyte). —,,  Gerascanthus. Spanish Elm. 
BS usneoides. Wild Pine. - „ macrophylla. Man-jack, or broad- 
Pandanus spiralis. Screw-pine. . . leaved Cherry. 
VOL. VII. 2x 
