BY-PRODUCTS FROM ASCELPIAS AND APOCYNUM. 57 



extraction method were used for the rubber it would be necessary to 

 consider the effect of this upon the fiber. The solvents commonly 

 employed would not injure it. 



The quality of the fiber in the plants under consideration has not 

 been thoroughly tested. It is quite likely that this will vary with the 

 different botanical species. Perhaps the most concise published state- 

 ment on the subject is one by Dodge (1897). Speaking of the common 

 milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Dodge says: 



"The only portion of the plant of which practical use can be made is the 

 bast, which furnishes quite a fine, long, glossy fiber that is strong and durable. 

 Early authorities have given it a place between flax and hemp, and the yield 

 has been claimed about equal to the latter. Dr. Schaeffer, as far back as the 

 fifties, made comparisons of the two fibers in Kentucky, and his conclusions 

 were most favorable to the Asclepias fiber. The native fiber was taken in 

 winter from the decayed stalks as they stood in the ground where they grew 

 without culture, while the hemp had not only been cultivated but treated 

 afterwards with the usual care. The fiber of the milkweed was nearly, if 

 not quite, as strong as that of the hemp, but apparently finer and more 

 glossy, while the quantity from a single stalk of each was nearly the same." 



Samples of milkweed fiber have been examined more recently by 

 experts, who think that Dodge's statement is rather too optimistic. 

 While these later opinions were not based upon actual tests for strength 

 or in weaving, they seem fairly reliable and lead to the conclusion 

 that milkweed fiber is not equal in quality to hemp. It seems to 

 be a stiffer fiber that does not spin as smoothly or as evenly as the 

 fibers now used, so that new methods and devices would need to be 

 developed for handling it. The milkweeds referred to are A. incarnata 

 and A. syriaca. It is probable that there is some variation in the 

 properties of the fiber from different species. 



The fiber of the Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) is somewhat 

 more promising than that of the milkweeds. Dodge (1897) says of it: 



"Easily separated from the stalk, and when cleaned is quite fine, long, and 

 tenacious. In color it is light cinnamon as usually seen, though finely pre- 

 pared specimens are creamy white and remarkably fine and soft; will rank 

 with Asclepias for strength, and is readily obtained, as the stems are long, 

 straight, smooth, and slender. Although paper has not been made of it, it 

 could doubtless be utilized for the purpose. It is principally employed by 

 the North American Indians, who manufacture from it in rude fashion, bags, 

 mats, small ornamental baskets, belts, twine, and other cordage, fishing 

 lines, and nets. Among fine specimens received is a fish line, such as is used 

 by the Pai Utes at the Walker River Reservation in Nevada." 



Later opinions expressed by experts who have examined the fiber 

 are that Apocynum fiber might have a commercial value if it could 

 be produced at a cost that w r ould permit it to compete with hemp or 

 jute. The fiber of this plant has been confused by some authors with 

 that of the Colorado River hemp (Sesbania macrocarpa), an entirely 

 different plant of the Leguminosse. 



