PROCEEDINGS OP THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 485 



Penguin or Bromelia from Honduras, which have been operated 

 upon by a new patented process of Messrs. Pye Bros., of Ipswich, 

 and am astonished at the remarkable improvement and high 

 commercial value which have been given to the article. The 

 main difficulty that has stood in th", way of rendering many of these 

 fibres useful of making them cheap, and of universal use, has been 

 the want of cheap and efficient machinery for preparing them, and 

 getting rid of the gummy and other matters without injury to the 

 fibres. Such machinery is a desideratum of the age^ 



Mr. Vye remarked that " on the authority of practical men he 

 could confidently pssert that the fibre of the Pita Bromelia, from 

 its strength and quality, might be rendered fit, by the hackling 

 process, for the finest fabrics." 



Mr. J. B. Sharp said that "he could confirm all that had been 

 said by those who preceded him. He had that morning submit- 

 ted some of the fibres to a close microscopical examination, and 

 had ascertained that each fibre contained from five to twelve or 

 more fine filaments, held together by gummy matter, capable of 

 being dissolved by proper processes. Some of the specimens 

 before them had been passed over the comb or hackles of a flax- 

 mill, and had been pronounced by the most experienced flax spin- 

 ners of the country (England) to be greatly superior to Russian 

 flax, and approaching the best description of Belgian, in capabil- 

 ity of application to the finest textile fabrics. * * ^ material 

 point to be considered was : What machinery shall be employed 

 in obtaining these fabrics ? On this head he would observe that 

 the plantain, one of the most luxuriant plants in growth, could 

 be easily prepared with one machine, while the silk grass or pen- 

 guin, etc., required a machine essentially different in construction. 

 * * The leaf of the silk grass consisted of two different struc- 

 tures ; the upper side being of a soft or pulpy character, easy of 

 removal ; and the under side of a harder or more ligneous cha- 

 racter, and more difhcult to separate — these two external bodies 

 holding the fibre between them. The preparation of the fibre, 

 however, was a question of mere mechanical arrangement. * * 

 He had no hesitation in saying that the three British colonies of 

 Jamaica, Honduras and Guiana were capable of furnishing fibres 

 from the plants in question to the value of $15,000,000 per 

 annum." 



Any one desirous of further information upon the subject of 



