' VEGETABLE FIBERS. 525 



vantage, but the reverse, by drying tlie plant after maceration, and be- 

 fore the bark is removed," which is the mode practiced in regard to flax 

 and hemp. Alter the fiber has been separated it is thoroughly washed, 

 by repeatedly squeezing and wringing the water out of it, after which 

 it is hung upon lines. When dry the fiber is separated a little, or combed 

 with the fingers, and then bundled for market. 



When the plant fii'st began to attract attention among Europeans it 

 was believed the Hindoo method of treatment could be improved ni)on 

 with favorable results, but much opposition was raised by the natives, 

 who declined, strenuously, going out of the beaten track of their fathers. 

 It was found to be a much more delicate plant than hemp, and conse- 

 quently could not be prepared after the European methods, without a 

 modification of the processes. 



The fiber of Bengal is always whiter than that of Bombay, owing to 

 more careful preparation. The amount of dressed fiber produced upon an 

 acre varies from 300 to 1,000 pounds, and the cultivation is said to yield 

 a tolerable profit, as the plant requires so little attention. The fiber 

 loses about one-third its weight by the process of hackling and comb- 

 ing, by the removal of tow and short fiber, but its value is increased, 

 and, consequently, commands a higher price when exported in this form. 

 As high as 7,000 tons of dressed sunn hemp have been exported from 

 India to various parts of the world, valued at nearly $400,000, the ex- 

 ports varying as th§ years are more or less favorable. Of this quantity, 

 about four-fifths goes to Great Britain, half the remainder to France 

 and ISTorth America, and the small surplus goes to Asiatic countries. 



Examined microscopically, Vetillart states that "the fibers appear 

 strongly united to each other by a transparent substance which becomes 

 opaque in the creases formed by friction in separating the fiber." When 

 the fibers are prepared in glycerine, their surface appears to be " stri- 

 ated j)arallel to the axis of the fiber, and often split in the same man- 

 ner." They are irregular in size. At points where the fiber has been 

 bent, fissures are sometimes observable,, which indicate fibrous texture. 

 The ends of the fibers are medium in size, and rounded like the end of 

 a spatula blade." " They bear a great analogy to those of flax and 

 hemp." Examined in cross-section, the fibers appear in compact groups, 

 often assuming a crescent shape, being swollen or larger in the center; 

 when separated from these groups the sections of fiber generally appear 

 with their angles somewhat rounded, exhibiting numerous very fine 

 concentric layers. They are enveloped in net-work, the central cav- 

 ity sometimes diminished to a mere jjoint in the cells, which are very 

 full, though sometimes it takes a linear form, " or large and ojien, some- 

 times empty, and sometimes filled with a granular substance." The 

 fiber is very rough, the epidermis adhering in many places ; the color is 

 a faded or dirty yellow. 



As to tenacity, experiments made with fiber grown and prepared under 

 the super\'ision of the agent of the East India Company gave a result 

 which, when compared with the best Kussiau hemp, was in the proportion 

 ( )f four to six, sunn being the weaker. Eoyle states that while " some re- 

 cent sunn broke with 170 pounds strain, when Russian hemp broke with 

 l(iO iiounds, the former may not bear the same degree of twisting as the 

 latter." In Dr. Wight's experiments with sunn, cotton- rope, hemp, and 

 coir, they were found to stand a strain of 407, 340, 290, and 224 pounds, 

 j'espectively. The fiber is used principally for ropes and cables, though 

 in India it is manufactured into cordage, nets, sack-cloth, twine, and 

 paper. The finely-dressed and most carefully-prepared fiber is made 

 into canvas of great durability. In the exhibition of 1851, specimens 



