CHINA-GKASS SUBSTITUTES 



Stinging 

 Nettles. 



Stingless 

 Nettles. 



BCEHMERIA 

 DKBREGEASIA 

 HYPOLBUCA 



BCEHMERIA OR RHEA SUBSTITUTES. 



Practically every fibre obtained from the Natural Order URTICACE^E or 

 the Nettles might be mentioned as a possible RHEA SUBSTITUTE. These are, 

 however, referred by botanists to two sub-tribes, viz. the STINGING and the 

 STINGLESS NETTLES. Of the former may be mentioned Girardinia, 

 Laportea and Urtica, and of the latter Bcehmeria, Deltrerjeasia, 

 Maoiitia, Sarcochlamys and Villebrmiea. These and a few other 

 allied genera are well known to afford strong and beautiful fibres. There is, 

 however, an objection to the former group that applies in nearly equal force 

 to all the species, namely that the poison of the stinging hairs renders it 

 difficult to collect the plants ; and indeed in some instances the poison i& 

 absorbed and retained by the fibre during the process of preparation. The 

 stinging nettles are consequently an intractable group of plants, no single 

 member of which has assumed or seems likely to assume commercial im- 

 portance in the modern commerce of any part of the world, even although 

 the fibres they afford are strong and exceedingly beautiful. The other group 

 the stingless nettles in addition to the China-grass or Rhea contains 

 several plants that are much appreciated in the countries where met with 

 plentifully, and mainly as sources of useful fibre. Several of these are also 

 capable of extended utilisation, should the necessities of commerce call 

 for new and diversified fibres. Each possesses special features of its own, 

 and the chief difficulty that stands in their way is that which has retarded 

 rhea itself, namely that the necessity for their recognition has scarcely 

 arisen. By far the most promising fibre of this series is Villebranea 

 integri folia. 



In the remarks that follow I shall deal as briefly as may be possible 

 with each of the more hopeful rhea substitutes, and, as customary, in the 

 alphabetical sequence of their scientific names : 



Debreg-easia hypoleuca, Wedd. This large shrub is met with 

 plentifully on the margins of fields, by roadsides and watercourses, and 

 near houses, in the western temperate Himalaya, at altitudes of 3,000 

 to 6,000 feet. It is best known by the following vernacular names : 

 puruni, tashidri (tushiyara), sidru, tashdri-sidr, sihdru, sanddri, sansdru, 

 amrer, thand, pincho, prin, etc. 



It is freely pollarded in October, and forms long, straight, willow-like shoots 

 which yield a fair percentage of bark-fibre ; the shoots are also made into 

 crude baskets for local use. The fibre is very generally extracted by the hill 

 people and employed for ropes and cordage. Various methods of separating 

 and cleaning the fibre have been reported. Baden-Powell observes that the 

 shoots are not steeped in water but are dried, and when brittle are beaten and 

 the fibre collected. The fibre is reported to be exceptionally strong and of 

 special value for fishing-nets, because of its resisting the action of water. As 

 cordage and rope it is employed for all agricultural and domestic purposes by 

 the hill people, but I have never heard of its being spun and woven nor have 

 I come across any account of a systematic production or even of a scientific 

 investigation of the fibre. 



The closely allied species n. reiutina, Gaud., perhaps hardly deserves to 

 be treated as distinct. It is a tall shrub of the sub-tropical Himalaya (especially 

 Eastern) and of the mountains of Western and Southern India and Burma 

 common in evergreen forests. The following are its better-known names : 

 Tashidri, kamhyem, kapsi, kurgul and putchaw. It takes the place very largely, 

 in the mountains of Western and Southern India, of the previous species on the 

 Himalaya. It is also used by the Himalayan people, more especially on the 

 eastern extremity, but is less plentiful to the west than the former. In the 

 Madras Manual of Administration it is spoken of as one of the chief fibres of 

 that Presidency. It is fairly extensively used in the Nilgiri hills, and a consign- 

 ment was sent to Europe by the Glenrock Company which was valued at 70 



160 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 52-4. 

 Himalayan 

 Shrub. 



Pollarded. 



Dry Extraction. 



Cordage. 



D.E.P., 



iii., 54. 

 South 

 Indian 

 Shrub. 



Important 

 Fibre. 



