40 Fibres of the Haivaiian Islands. 



From an economical standpoint fibres may be classified ac- 

 cording to their use. Cotton, flax, pineapple and ramie are finer 

 fabric fibres, while jute and coir are used for matting and sacking. 

 Threads, twines, ropes and cordage are supplied by flax, hemp, 

 plantain and sisal, and the various manufacftures of brooms, paper, 

 nets, mats and baskets are made from a hOvSt of sedges, reeds, 

 bambus, palms, seaweeds and other plants. 



Of the many hundreds of useful fibre-producing plants prob- 

 ably less than forty supply the .markets of the world. It is believed 

 that these Islands may be made abundantly produdlive of fibres 

 adapted to every description of manufa(5lure, f.rom the coarsest 

 sacking to the most delicate muslin or lawn. 



Although the usual arrangement of the fibres noticed in this 

 paper would be a division founded on their strucflure and botanical 

 classification it has seemed better in this case to adopt a different 

 method. A brief description is first given of the standard commer- 

 cial fibres, flax, hemp and jute, as it is by thevSe a comparison is 

 drawn to the quality of other and less known varieties. The 

 fibrous plants native to the Hawaiian Islands and the introduced 

 ones then follow in alphabetical order. The importance of botani- 

 cal origin has not been entirely overlooked and attention is in each 

 case direcfted to this. The following fibres have been described : 



Bast or Corticai, Fibrks : Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Hibiscus 

 (hau). Jute, Mulberry, Okra, Olona, Pandanus (hala), Ramie, 

 Rosella and Sunflower. 



vStructural or Foliaceous Fibres: Bambu (ohe), Coir 

 (niu), Manila Hemp, New Zealand Flax, Pineapple, Pita, Sans- 

 evieria and Sisal. 



Surface Fibres: Cotton and Pulu. 



FI^AX. 



ExoGEN. Bast Fibre. Linacea;. Linum usitatissiunini. 



Flax is believed to be the earliest vegetable fibre used by man 

 for clothing, and its cultivation and manfacflure are known to have 

 been followed for at least five thousand 3'ears, Linum angustifolinm 

 being the reputed source of the prehistoric fabric of the Stone Age. 

 More than one hundred species are recognized, of which Linum 

 2csitatissimtim aflords the flax of commerce. The Linacecc are dis- 



