MIXED FIBERS 933 
temporary structures such as those of the Columbian and 
Pan-American Expositions. The fine fiber is woven by the 
natives into beautiful fabrics. 
1 2 Ze y ty | NS 
Ny \ 
Fic. 219.—Manila Hemp Plant (Musa textilis, Banana Family, Musacee). 
Plant, flowers, and fruit. (Kew Bulletin.)—A tree-like perennial herb 
from the underground stem of which arise huge leaves whose over- 
lapping stalks make a trunk 6 m. or more in height, and support not 
only the immense leaf-blades but the heavy cluster of flowers and 
fruit; leaves pale beneath; flowers inconspicuous, covered by reddish 
bracts; fruit green, filled with numerous seeds. Native home, Philip- 
pine Islands. 
The leaves of the pineapple (Fig. 111) yield a similar fiber 
of extraordinary strength and fineness. From the finest of 
