VEGETABLE FIBEES. 531 



pillows iu Canada ; it is useless for any other purpose. However, there 

 is a rbcord of paper having been made from it in the last century. The 

 cells are smooth and cylindrical, and will not felt or fasten themselves 

 together, so can only be classed as " down'' or silky haii'S. 

 Forbes Eoylc states that — 



The silk-like down, of Asclepias syriaca is uot more than an inch in length, but it 

 Las, nevertheless, been applied to .irticles of dress manxifactured from it both in 

 France and Eiissia. Kepreseutatives of the Asclepiadaeeie are found in Asia, in the 

 north of Africa, the south of Europe, Siberia, North and South America, Japan, Cape 

 of Good Hope, and New Holland. The bast liber has been prepared, experimentally, 

 in Kussia, and directions for its preparation are given by German authorities. 



Calotropis gigantea. — Giant Asclepias. Yercum. — This is an Ascle- 

 piadaceous plant of considerable value in Indian pharmacy, growing 

 wild upon arid wastes, and j)roducing a fiber of superior quality that 

 might be used for many i)urx)oses. It resembles flax somewhat in ap- 

 pearance, and is quite strong. It is not cultivated in India, tljough its 

 fiber is regarded in jMadras, where the plant grows wild, as the best 

 and strongest material for bow-strings and tiger-traps. The plant is 

 known under a variety of names, as Aslmr in Arabic ; Muddar and AJc- 

 Muddar in Hindoo j in Madras it goes by the name of Yercum. 



The mode of separating the fiber, as practiced by the natives, is ex- 

 ceedingly tedious, and would prevent the material from becoming an 

 article of commerce unless some more speedy and less trifling way for 

 preparing it could be discovered. In short, no v,'ater is used, and 

 everything is done by hand manipulation, assisted by the teeth. Flax 

 machinery might facilitate the matter if it was desired to cultivate ex- 

 tensively for fiber. The pods also contain a silky down, which in Madras 

 is used for the manufacture of a soft, cotton- like thread. As to its cul- 

 tivation, " it is difficult to conceive anything less productive than dry 

 sand, yet the Muddar thrives in it, requiring no culture and no water." 

 Dr. Wight tested samples of the fiber from Madras, where it is much 

 emploj^ed for fish-lines, and found that it bore a strain of 552 pounds, 

 when Sunn hemp bore 404 pounds. Eoyle's experiments gave 160 for 

 Eussian hemp and 190 pounds each for Jubbulpore hemp ( Grotalaria) 

 and the Muddar or Calotropis gigantea. A soft kind of cloth has been, 

 made from the silky down of this tree by mixing with cotton. It has 

 also been used in the manufacture of paper. 



Marsdenia tenacissima. — Eajmahl Bowstring Creeper. — This j)lant pro- 

 duces the jeetee fiber of India. There is no sample of the fiber in the 

 museum, but as it is often referred to, and is a well-known fiber, it will 

 be proper to include it in our list. The plant grows in the Eajmahl hills 

 of India in dry and barren places, and the fibers of the bark are em- 

 ployed for making bowstrings by the mountaineers. "The fibers are 

 not only beautiful in appearance, but strong and durable." 



In Dr. Eoxburg's tests of twine made from jeetee, he found that in the 

 dry and wet states it bore a strain of 248 and 343 pounds, when hemp 

 in the same states bore 158 and 190 pounds. More recent tests, how- 

 ever, place it below hemp in strength, but above it in elasticity. The 

 fiber is much used for making nets, and is not liable to injury by being 

 kept in water. 



Ort7tft«t/ierat'wm'/iea, another plant belonging to the milk- weed family, 

 grows near the foot of the Himalayan Mountains, its long, slender, leaf- 

 less, wand-like stems, 10 feet or more in length, furnishing a fiber of 

 remarkable tenacity, suitable for rope-making. Other i3lants of this 

 family in different parts of the world are mentioned as producing fiber j 

 they are, however, of minor importance. 



