97-1 



CROPS YiKLinxc; oils, dyks and taxxixs 



Crops 



■inEi.DiNG Oils, 



Dyes 

 AND Tannins 



and the chemical laboratory method of treatment of textile plants should 

 be studied in fuller detail, being capable of a wider application and promis- 

 ing important economic results. 



754 - Piassava Industry of British West Africa. — Bulletin oi ihc imperial /nstiime, 



Vol. XIII, Xo. 4, pp. ,t55-55'^>- I<on(li;ii, October-December K115. 



West African Piassava is a brushmaking fibre obtained from the 

 leaf-sheaths of the wine-palm {Rap/iia vinifera). It is produced in most of 

 the British West African possessions, but chiefly in Sierra Leoi.e. 



The exports of piassava from Sierra Leone in 1914 were 983 tors, value 

 £ 19 492, as compared with 839 tons, value £ 12 280 in 1913. The exports 

 from Nigeria were 403 tons, value £ 5 117 in 1914, as compared with 228 

 tons, value £ 2 806 in 191 3. No exports of the fibre from Gambia or the Gold 

 Coast have been recorded in recent years. The piassava industry in the 

 Gambia appears to be worthy of attention with a view to development. 

 The palm grows on the banks of the river, which is navigated by ocean- 

 going-vessels. 



In the course of preparing piassava in Sierra I^eone, a fibrous by-product 

 is obtained which hitherto has not been utilised. In order to ascertain 

 whether this material has any commercial value, a sample was forwarded 

 recently to the Imperial Institute for examination. 



It consisted of a matted mass of reddish-brown fibre, resembling coir 

 in appearance. The material was fairly clean, the fibres were very irregular 

 in size, strength and length ; this latter varied from i to 3 ft., but was 

 mostly from about 20 to 30 in. The fibre contained 9 per cent moisture ; 

 3.4 per cent ash ; 65.8 per cent cellulose. The material would be accepted 

 on the market as a substitute for low-grade coir, and would realise about 

 £ 6 to £ 8 per ton in lyondon, if shipped in good dry condition in press- 

 packed bales {March 191 5). 



753 - Influence of Green Manure on the Germination of Oil Seeds. — .See xo. 734 



ot this Bulletin. 



756 - Investigations in Reference to Henna. — Corte.si f. and tomm.'^si o ..in AnnaU 



della R. Stazioiic Chimica- A'^niria Spcrimentale di Roma, Series II, Vol. VIII. pp. 75-113 

 Rome, 1016. 



This short monograph sums up the results of botanical and chemical 

 investigations with a view to determining the methods of cultivation, uses, 

 adulteration and market conditions of this plant, which is of considerable 

 economic importance for Tripoli. 



I. — BoTAXiCAL IxvESTiGATioxs. — The data and description of the 

 plant prompt CoRTESi to adopt the name of Laivsonia inermis L- in the wider 

 sense rather than that of Laws.onia alba Lam. contained in the Ixdex ke- 

 WENSis, because it was Lixne who named the Laivsonia genus and al- 

 though the difference between inermis and spinosa corresponds to two epochs 

 in the age of the plant, the specific name of L. inermis should be kept (as 

 Koehne also thinks) on grotmds of priority. The plant, which is cultivated 

 in all tropical regions, may reach a height of 23 feet. The obovate or oblong 

 or widely lanceolate leaves are 12-67 mm in length and 5-27 mm in width. 



