1 8 Vegetable Fibres used in Bruskmaking. [Sess. 



hair is freely used ;' and, for special purposes, badger, sable, 

 goat, and squirrel hair are in constant request. 



As the supply of bristles is now decreasing, and the demand 

 for brushes increasing with civilisation, makers have been 

 constrained to introduce vegetable fibres as substitutes for 

 animal hairs. For many purposes these fibres are quite 

 suitable, but they are much inferior to bristles, owing to lack 

 of elasticity. Bristles have a remarkable power of springing 

 back to their original straightness after being crushed, and it is 

 this native elasticity which makes them so useful. If vegetable 

 substitutes could be endowed with this property, their value 

 would be increased tenfold. 



The following list comprises all the vegetable fibres gener- 

 ally used in the brush trade : — 



1. Mexican Fibre. — This is obtained from the leaves of 

 Agave heteracantha, a plant which grows abundantly in a 

 temperate region of Mexico, twenty days' journey from the 

 port of Tampico. The natural colour of the fibre is white, 

 but it takes on dye readily, and when mixed with bristles it 

 is difficult to detect its presence. It has the power of resisting 

 the action of water, and consequently does very well when 

 made into nail- and scrubbing-brushes. For sweeping purposes 

 it is useless. 



2. Kitul Fibre. — This is obtained from the leaf-stalks of 

 Caryota urens, a palm-tree which grows in India and Ceylon. 

 It is a very tough and durable material, deserving to be more 

 used than it generally is. 



3. Cocoa Fibre. — As every one knows, this is a product of 

 the husk of the cocoa-nut, from the palm Cocos nucifera. 



4. French Whisk. — This fibre is the root of a grass — Cryso- 

 pogon gryllus. Although known as French whisk, it is mostly 

 grown in Italy. The roots are washed in running water, dried 

 in the open air, and then bleached with sulphur-fumes. This 

 material is used in making carpet-brushes, and dandy — i.e., 

 dandriff — brushes for grooming horses. The tender rootlets 

 are made into clothes-brushes. 



5. Mexican Whisk. — This resembles French whisk in appear- 

 ance, and is used for similar purposes, but is not so durable. 

 It is the roots of Epicampes macroura. 



6. Italian Millet. — This is the fruiting-spike of Sorghum 



