Chapter XI.— MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL FIBERS. 



(a) FIBERS SURROUNDING SEEDS. 



Under this caption are included finely matted fibers such 

 as occur in the boll of the cotton plant or in the cylindrical 

 pod of the kapok or silk-cotton tree. In the cotton boll 

 the fibers are more intimately connected with the seeds than 

 in the kapok pod. The separation of the seea from its 

 surrounding fibers by hand is therefore extremely difficult 

 in the one case, while in the other it can be done with 

 comparative ease. 



KAPOK. 



{Ceiba pentandra.) 



Kapok (E.) ; balios, kapak, bulak (Bulacan) ; boby, bubuy, bulak, 

 bulaksino (T.) ; bulak-castila (Pampanga) ; bulak-dondol, dondol 

 (Cebu) ; capas, kapas-sanglay (II.) ; doldol, kayo (Vis.) ; kapak 

 (Rizal). 



The kapok tree is found in all provinces of the Philip- 

 pines, but its silky cottonlike fibers are gathered for trade 

 or export principally in the Visayas. Most of the exported 

 kapok floss from the Philippines finds its way to the markets 

 of Hongkong and the Netherlands. 



The tree is rather short, being generally less than 15 m. 

 in height. The trunk is cylindric and has large spines 

 scattered about its surface. It bears branches at right 

 angles to the stem. The tree is usually propagated by 

 cuttings. The simple, entire leaflets, from 5 to 8 in number 

 and from 6 to 15 cm. long, are arranged on a long petiole. 

 The flowers are numerous and whitish in color. The fruit 

 is an oblong capsule about 15 cm. long and 5 cm. thick 

 and filled with seeds loosely surrounded by fine silky hairs. 

 These hairs are short and elastic. 



PREPARATION. 



In the Philippines the fibers are generally obtained by 

 hand. In Java very simple kapok-cleaning machines are 

 used, plans and specifications of which can be obtained at 

 the Bureau of Agriculture, Manila, P. I. 



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