530 ^ REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 

 11.— ASCLEPIADACE^. 



Nearly allied to tlie dogbane family is tbe family of milk- weeds, many 

 species of which are found in the United States, and nearly all jws- 

 sessed of a fibrous bark, their seed-pods filled with silky haii's. 



Asclepias cornutt. — ;&Iilk-weed, Silk- weed. — Habitat, United States. 

 This genus comprises a number of coarse herbaceous plants with 

 a milky juice, which, for the most part, are natives of liforth America. 

 The collection contains not only good specimens of the fiber from this 

 country, but from South America. Among these are specimens of 

 the "silk" obtained from the ripened pods, useless for textile purposes, 

 yet attracting attention from its beauty. One sample in particular 

 was sent from South America as " vegetable silk," with fabulous ac- 

 counts of the beautiful fabrics that could be made from it. 



The only portion of the plant of which practical use can be made is 

 the bast, which fornishes quite a fine, long, glossy fiber, that is strong 

 and durable. It ranks between flax and hemp, and in yield is about 

 equal to the latter. Dr. Schaeffer made comparison of the two fibers in 

 Kentucky, and the result was most favorable for that of Asclepias. He 

 says: 



The native fiber was taken in -winter from tlie decayed stalks, as tliey stood in the 

 ground, 'where they gre^r -without cnlture, while the hemp had not only heen culti- 

 vated, l)ut treated'aftervrards -with the usual care. The fiber of the milk-weed was 

 nearly, if not quite, as strong as that of the hemp, but apparently finer, and more glossy, 

 ■while the quantity from a siagl© stalk of each was nearly the same. 



There are many species of silk- weed, the commonest of which, A. cor- 

 nuti {A. syriaca of Linn), is found growing wild in many portions of the 

 United States, but docs not seem to have been utilized for fiber beyond 

 limited experiment. The culture of the plant is said to be attended 

 with little difficulty, as it generally thrives on poor soil. "As it is a 

 perennial, with strong roots, successive crops might for a long time be 

 obtained from one sowing of the seeds, or planting of the roots." 

 Planted at suitable distances it could be easily cultivated, and, if close 

 enough, would produce a heavy crop of long, slender stems clothed 

 with abundance of fiber. 



Among the specimens of the bast are several from Brazil, which have 

 been finely prepared and show that the fiber is known in that country, 

 though the writer can find no records of its manufacture. "An early 

 knowledge of the fiber of silk- weed caused its introduction into Europe, 

 where it has finally become a cultivated plant, while in its own country 

 but little is known of its true value." Dr. Masters, an European author- 

 ity, states that " its excellent fiber is woven into muslin, and in some 

 l)arcs of India is made into paper." From the Flax and Hemp Com- 

 mission the department received small pieces of Asclepias cloth mixed 

 with one-third cotton. This, though coarse, is quite strong. From the 

 report of the Flax and Hemp Commission, page 74, the microscopic 

 character of this sample of fiber is given as follows : 



Imperfectly cottoniscd, and of course unequal in staple. Some single cells, which 

 could be drawn out, were found to resemble flax in many respects, but differing in 

 decided markings that form long spirals, and also in the diameter of the iuterual 

 cavity, which is less than that of flax, and more iiTegular. * * * A specimen 

 from Russia ehowa that the cells will not average more than three-fourths of an inch, 

 if so much. 



The fiber forms a good paper material, and might be cultivated with 

 profit for this purpose. The " silk" possibly might be employed as 

 wadding, or for upholstering purposes — it has been used for stuffing 



