516 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885.^ 



LILIACE^. 

 t 



Yucca baccata, including var. australis, Eng. (Spanish Bayonet or Dagger ; the 

 Palma Criolla of the Mexicans.) 



Variable in size, from a mere cluster of leaves on a very short caudex 

 to a tree 30 feet high and 18 inches or more in diameter. Common on 

 high mesus throughout Western and Southern Texas; specially large and 

 thrifty on the wide slopes leading up to the base of mountains. 



The leaves of this Yucca yield an excellent textile fiber ; for this and 

 other reasons it is considered one of the most valuable economic plants 

 of Texas. 



Every year a tuft of leaves, from ten to twenty, grows on or near the 

 summit of the plant ; they attain their full development the second 

 season, with the inflorescence of the gorgeous panicle of flowers, and 

 for several years remain green and pliable. As the tree becomes fifteen 

 or more years old, the lower leaves begin to shrink ; later they droop 

 and wither into membranaceous shreds, forming a thick thatch around 

 the stem of the tree. This thatch is very useful for kindling fires in 

 the field, the inner layer always remaining dry in rainy weather. 



On old trees, the only available leaves, that is, those of the last four 

 or five years, are about the summit and therefore of difficult access ; 

 they are also likely to be short and dwarfed. The best leaves are those 

 produced by trees not more than about fifteen years old ; before that 

 age has been reached several hundreds of leaves can be collected. In 

 order not to injure the growth of the stem, the last one or two clusters, 

 near the top, should be spared. It would be well to cut oft" the young 

 flower stalk as soon as it is fairly developed in order to divert the sap 

 into the leaves. 



The length of the full-grown leaf is 3 to 4 feet, yielding a fiber aver- 

 aging 3 feet and 3 inches. This fiber is not as strong as that of the 

 Lechuguilla, but is said to compare favorably with that of hemp ; it is 

 whiter, smoother and more flexible than the former, and makes prettier 

 fabrics. It is obtained by the same process. 



The leaf, when slightly parched, becomes very supple and can be split 

 into several strands which are used as whips and withes, and made to 

 answer all the purposes of rope and string ; with them are tied up the 

 sheaves at harvest time, the bundles of hay cut on the mesas, the various 

 articles carried on the saddle and the burro's pack, &c. 



The roots, pounded and reduced to a pulp by adding water, are used 

 by Mexicans and Indians as an excellent substitute for soap, under the 

 general name of " amole," and are not probably much inferior in this 

 respect to Lechuguilla leaves. According to Dr. Loew, they contain 

 sugar, resin, tannin, gum, and saponin. The latter substance is what 

 makes this "amole" foam like soap when shaken or rubbed with water 

 and gives it detergent properties. The parenchyma, or pith, remaining 



