VEGETABLE FIBERS. 545 



packing glassware or porcelain. It is largely employed in the arts in 

 the United States, in the manufacture of " vegetable hair," and forms 

 an admirable substitute for curled hair for upliolst«ring purposes. 



The outer cellular portion is removed by steeping the plant in water, 

 when the filaments change their color from gray to black, and in appear- 

 ance closely resemble " hair." 



The plant is allied to the pine-apple, belonging to the same family, 

 though, as it is seen in Southern forests, pendant from the branches of the 

 trees in long gray tufts, it has far from the appearance of bromeliaceous 

 plants. There are quite a number of patented machines and processes 

 for the preparation of the fiber, which is, of course, conducted in the 

 South. 



19.— Abiaryllidace^. 



I Agave Americana. — Century Plant. — In America the plant is known ar> 

 the American aloe, Cdraia, and Pita;* the last name is also given the 

 fiber. It is known in India as Cuttkaler nar and Bans-Keora in Hin- 

 dostan. 



This plant, which is now found growing in many parts of the world, 

 is well represented in the department collection. It gives a brilliant 

 fiber of considerable strength, which is useful for many pmposes. The 

 Indians of Mexico and Arizona use it for saddle-cloths and cordage. 

 The '' saddle-cloths" are not woven, but arc merely masses of fiber of 

 regular thickness, tacked with thread at regular distances, in the same 

 manner that mattresses are secured and the hair kept in place. In the 

 West Indies it is employed by the negroes for making cordage ham- 

 mocks and fishing-lines, and in ]\iexico is utilized in the manufacture of 

 ropes for use in the mines, and in some cases for the rigging of ships. 

 In South America it has even been used for large cables. Humboldt 

 mentions a bridge in Quito with a span of 130 feet constructed of ropes 

 of Agave fiber, some of them 4 inches in diameter. 



The name Pita follows it to Spain and Sicily, where it is used for 

 cordage and mats. It is also made into paper in Mexico, a sample of 

 "Maguay paper" in the museum attesting its value as a paper stuff. 

 The sample is clear and white and of fine texture. In JTew South Wales 

 " it produces such an excellent fiber, of such strong and durable quality," 

 it is recommended for cultivation for its fiber alone, particularly as " it 

 will grow in almost any situation, and so freely that under favorable 

 circumstances it will flower in from seven to eight years." 



The plant is so well known from the examijies to be met with in our 

 conservatories that a description seems hardly necessary ; however, the 

 leaves are from 3 to G feet in length, are thick and fleshy, and formed of 

 hard, pulpy matter intermixetl with the fibers; they are armed with sharp 

 spines, both at the point of the leaf and along the margins. 



When the fiber is extracted by liand the leaves are crushed and mac- 

 erated in water, and the fibers separated from the i)arenchyma by 

 beating. The fiber is contained in roots as well as leaves. Another 

 plan in vogue is to lay the long leaves ui)on a board, and with a square 

 iron bar held in both hands they are scraped until all the juice and pulp 

 are pressed out, leaving the fiber ready to be cleaned. 



Within late years improved processes of separating the fiber have 

 been invented, which will doubtless give it more prominence as a com- 

 mercial product. A machine for the mechanical extraction of the fiber, 



* Bromclia sylveairis is ixiso callQd Pita by some autliors, tlioiigli the uame properly 

 belongs to Agave Americana. 



35 AG 



