82 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



up to 3000 feet altitude. The fibre is of inferior quality and is 

 used locally for making cordage and in caulking boats, but is 

 less valuable than that of the true Hemp (Cannabis) and less 

 important as an article of export from Szechuan. Jute 

 [Cor chorus capsularis), colloquially known in Szechuan as 

 " Huang-ma," is very sparingly cultivated on the Chengtu 

 Plain and elsewhere. It is not exported from the pro- 

 vince. 



The brown fibre from the leaf -bases of a palm, Tr achy- 

 carpus excelsus, known in Hupeh as " Chung-ma," is the 

 " coir-fibre " of the Yangtsze Valley. This " coir " is made 

 into bales and exported down river from Szechuan in quantity. 

 It is used for rope-making, mats and mattresses, brushes, 

 is converted into rude raincapes, and is an all-round useful 

 fibre. 



The most important textile plant in China is the much- 

 discussed China-grass, Ramie, or Rhea [Boehmeria nivea). 

 This member of the nettle family is both wild and cultivated 

 in all the warmer parts of the Middle Kingdom up to 4000 feet 

 altitude. It is a herbaceous perennial and grows 3 to 6 feet 

 tall ; the leaves, broadly ovate, abruptly cuneate, or truncated 

 at base, have dentate margins and are silvery on the underside. 

 In Hupeh the wild plant is called " Ch'u-ma," the cultivated 

 plant " Hsien-ma." In Szechuan the cultivated plant is also 

 known as " Hsien-ma " and occasionally as " Yuang-ma," 

 These various colloquial names are most perplexing and are 

 almost hopelessly confused. 



In Szechuan small patches of this " China-grass " are to be 

 found around nearly every peasant's home. South-west of 

 Chungking and also north of Lu Chou in several districts, it 

 is cultivated on a very extensive scale. Much of the fibre is 

 woven into " grass-cloth " and used locally, A certain amount 

 is also exported down river, Szechuan " grass-cloth " is rather 

 coarse and very much inferior to that produced in parts of 

 southern China. It is not a prominent export from the west. 

 In 1910 the exports from Hankow amounted to 120,034 piculs, 

 valued at Tls. 183,332. This is classified in the Customs 

 returns as Ramie fibre, and does not include that woven into 

 grass-cloth. 



