GRASSES OF IOWA. 167 



to the purpose. In the last cen'ury two maize-straw paper 

 manufactories were in existence in Italy. The paper produced 

 was not of a satisfactory quality, the cost was too great, and 

 the manufacture forthwith stopped. The chief expense was 

 found in the transportation of the crude material to the seat of 

 operations. All the fibre and gluten wastes can be used in 

 the manufacture of paper. The catalogues of the Austrian 

 exhibition at London in 1862 in German, French and English, 

 consists of such paper. " At the present time the manufacture 

 of paper from maize in Vienna is an extensive operation. The 

 paper has a yellowish tint and is, therefore, very restful to the 

 eyes. Paper of Indian corn requires very little sizing; it 

 bleaches well and is of greater strength than rag paper, and 

 no machinery is necessary for tearing up the leaves. 



Crookes and Fischer state that "among the straw species 

 appears the maize (Indian corn) from the fibre of which a paper 

 is made that for purity and whiteness cannot be equalled. The 

 inner bark of the bamboo affords a very fine paper, yielding 

 the most delicate impressions ti om copper-plate, and this paper 

 was originally called India-proof. Paper is also made from 

 Androj)ogon sorghum. A very fine fibre is also made from 

 Esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima).* 



Many other grasses are adapted for fibre paper purposes and 

 several grasses produce fibre of fine quality. 



In Labrador the Elymus arenarius is employed for the manu- 

 facture of table mats and baskets. Bamboo {Bambusa arundin- 

 acea) is used for the purpose of making paper sto3k and the 

 canes are also sp'it and shredded and afterwards wrought into 

 various forms. The Marram grass, Ammophilia arenaria, is 

 used in northern England for the making of table mats and 

 baskets and also for agricultural tie bands. For a valuable 

 paper on the subject of fiOre producing pi ^.n^ s, the one prepared 

 by Charles Richards Dodga, "A Descriptive Catalogue of Use- 

 ful Fibre Piaats of the World, "f is recommended. 



The Hopi Indians use Hilaria jamesii. They make from the 

 stout fibre of this plant coiled trays. The strong fibre of 

 Hierochloe borealis according to Dr. HavardJ: is used by the 

 Penobscot Indians for the making of baskets and pretty fancy 

 work. Its long radical leaves become strongly involute in 



♦For an account of the making of paper see Man. of Chem. Teoh. by Rudolph Von 

 Wagner. English translation. Crookes and Fischer. 853: 1892. 

 tU. S. Dept. Agrl. Fiber Inves. 9. 

 4:Glarden and Forest. 3: 619. 



