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labelled in the museums and at exhibitions Bromelia sylvestris, 

 Bromelia pita, Bromelia pinguin, Bromelia Karatas, and Karatas 

 Plumieri. Its most common names are pita, pinuella, pinguin, and 

 silk grass, though " pita" is meaningless, and silk grass is applied 

 to so many other fibres that the name is worthless. The better 

 names are pinuella and karatas. In the regions of Southern Mexico, 

 from Oaxaca to Vera Cruz, where the plant grows in great 

 profusion, the fibre is used largely for fine woven textures, where 

 strength and durability are essentials, such as hunting bags and 

 other forms of pouches. It is also used for sewing threads, and 

 was formerly employed for sewing shoes. The fibre is cleaned by 

 hand, and the great length of the thin narrow leaf, which is armed 

 along its edges with sharp spines, makes it a tedious operation, 

 hence the high price of the fibre. Efforts are being made to clean 

 the leaves of the wild pineapple by machinery, and some fair 

 examples of the fibre have been turned out experimentally in 

 small quantities, so that future experiments are looked forward to 

 with interest. The difficulty in the way of machinery extraction, 

 is largely due to the fineness and length of the leaf, a machine 

 powerful enough to scrape off the hard epidermis enclosing the 

 fibre layer being too harsh in its action, thus injuring the fibre. 

 The production of well cleaned, unbroken fibre by machinery, and 

 in commercial quantities, would no doubt give to manufacturers 

 a new textile which might enter into some of the present uses of 

 flax, while the peculiar silkiness, and the colour of the fibre, 

 would adapt it to the manufacture of many beautiful woven 

 articles, such as fancy bags, and even belts for summer wear. It 

 would doubtless make superior fishing lines, and with further 

 preparation and bleaching, it is probable that the fibre might be 

 employed in a wide range of woven fabrics of great beauty. An 

 Italian authority states that in Brazil and Guiana, where a similar 

 (if not the same) plant abounds, the fine silk fibre is manufactured 

 intoman}' articles de luxe. In an old work on Mexico a species 

 of Bromelia is referred to, which is said to yield a very fine fibre 

 six to eight feet long, " and from its fineness and toughness, it is 

 said to be commonly used in belt-making work. It also finds 

 application in the manufacture of many articles, such as bagging, 

 waggon sheets, carpets, &c, besides being a valuable material for 

 making nets, hammocks, cordage and many other articles in 

 common use." This undoubtedly refers to the common form of 

 Bromelia. A species of short-leaved Bromelia grows in Paraguay 

 and Argentina, producing asomewhat similar fibre, which is known 

 as Caraguata, the product of Bromelia argentina. The filaments 

 from this species are rarely longer than four feet, and while the 

 fibre is short and strong, it does not compare with the pinuella 

 fibre from the regions of Oaxaco, Mexico. Bromelia fibre is closely 

 allied to the famous pina, or pineapple fibre of the Philippines, from 

 which are manufactured beautiful textures, such as fabrics for 

 ball dresses, and handkerchiefs of gossamer fineness. There is 

 said to be little doubt that with a careful preparation, some of the 

 wild pineapple fibre might be employed in the same manner. 



