526 EEPOET OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



of great strength and compactness were sent from Trevancore, made ot 

 a fiber called wucJcoo nar. It attracted considerable attention, as it was 

 totally different from any other Indian fiber, but afterwards proved to 

 be Crotalaria jiincea, changed by locality and climate, combined with 

 variation in the mode of preparation. 



Crotalaria tenuifolia. — Jubbulpore hemp. — This plant, considered by 

 some authors to be a variety of G. juncea, is said to be superior to Eus- 

 sian hemp {Cannahis sativa), breaking approximately at a strain of 95 

 pounds for the first named to 80 pounds for the latter. It is 4 or 5 feet 

 in length, and resembles best Petersburg hemp, compared with which 

 Koyle considers it equal, if not superior. Although its cultivation is 

 limited, it is regularly grown for its fiber, which is used for the same 

 jiurposes as sunn. 



Ten per cent, is lost in hackling, and the cost and quality varies accord- 

 ing to the locality or season of the year in which it is grown. From a report 

 of the agri-horticultural society of India, plants nine weeks from seed " had 

 attained the height of 8J feet icithout branching, an important point in a 

 fiber-producing plant, and commenced flowering three months from 

 sowing." C. tenuifolia is a native of Coramandel, and is a perennial 

 plant. It grows to a height of 9 feet in the botanic gardens of Calcutta. 

 It is generally grown upon side hills, and is far stronger than when cul- 

 tivated in the plains below, the lower situations tending to produce 

 plants of great height, but of weaker fiber ; while ^oil and climate have 

 much to do with with its superiority, it is also due to careful manipula- 

 tion in it;S preparation. 



Pteroc'arpus santalinus. — This is another leguminous plant from India, 

 producing a rather inferior fiber. There are fifteen or more species in 

 the geuiis, and all are plants of large size, scattered over tropical Asia, 

 Afiica, and America. The fiber is reddish in color, composed of quite 

 fine filaments of moderate strength. From the size and appearance ol 

 this specimen, which is quite old, I judge it has only been extracted ex- 

 perimentally. A twisted cord of the fiber, about the size of common 

 manila-paper twine, would show about the same tenacity. The plant 

 yields a deep red dye, known to commerce as '' Red Sanders," large 

 quantities of which are exported from India annually. Gum kino is 

 obtained from two species of Pterocarims, one growing in India and the 

 other in Africa. Some of the barks are also used for tanning. It would 

 doubtless make a good paper-stock, if it could be cheaply extracted and 

 in large quantities. 



Sesbania aculeata. — The plants belonging to this genus of Legumi- 

 nosse are tropical annuals, found in many parts of the world. The species 

 named givesthe well-known i>/iw?ic/tee of India, which is highly esteemed 

 lor the manufacture of ropes and cordage, and is regarded as a coarse 

 substitute for hemi). The plant is a native of the Malabar coast, and 

 also grows in China. In Bengal it is called Jayunti. The plant grows 

 to a height of 6 to 10 feet; the fiber is long, but much coarser and harsher 

 than hemp. Bengalese fisherman make the drag-ropes of their nets of 

 this substance, on account of its strength and durability. It is gener- 

 ally grown in wet soil, requiring little preparation, as the plant is hardy 

 and of rapid growth. It is sown at the rates of 30 pounds of seed to 

 the acre. .In Northwest liidia, during the rainy season, it springs up in 

 rice-fields, and other wet, cultivated lands. A peculiarity of the fiber 

 is its remarkable contractability, as from contraction alone ropes made 

 of it are said to be able to carry away the mainmast of a ship. Eoyle 

 publishes the statement of an Indian gentleman to the effect that "it is 

 considered a much hardier plant than jute, and certainly very sux^erior 



