PUA HEMP 



Pua Hemp. 



WiIJ-rliM. 



Uibbons of 

 Bark boiled in 

 Wood-ashes. 



BCEHMERIA 



URT1CA 

 DJOICA 



Ms); Heddo me (AY. >'<//<-., ii., :(ti;), an.] mans other writri allude to thejv, 



ins plant . 



I'ropcrtU-x. The hark is known to yield a strong and fairly useful lil.re, the 

 ., II - ..f u Inch measure 8 hi mm., but ite great loan on hydrolysis, togoth.-i 

 nous property, stamp it a.s unlikely eser to ln-eoinenf i-omnn-n-i.il 

 nee. The Indian plant is elosely allied to I., rtuuiilrnnl*, the |,l,|. 

 liieh at one time uus of importance in ICnrojMJ and which recently has IOQI1 

 d for cultivation in France as a substitute for rhea. 



Maoutia Puya, Wedd. ; Agri. Ledg., 1898, No. 15, 120-0, and pi. D.E.P., 

 known as pua-hemp, and Nepal Hemp, and by some writers as Wild- v., 177 80. 

 ea. /"/, i>un, J>H!/<I, i/i'ttki, kyinki or kienki, puttanti, sat-sa or sat-xlm 

 <h<i. etc. A shrui) from 2 to 6 or even 8 feet in height, fairly plentiful 

 the damp forests at the foot of the Himalaya from Garhwal eastwards 

 oimh Nepal and Sikkim to the Khasia hills and the mountains of 

 Burma, at altitudes of from 1,000 to 4,000 feet. 



This is purely a wild plant and is nowhere cultivated. It does not grow in 

 the forests but frequents glades and open places, overrunning abandoned fields. 

 ds its leaves in winter, comes into fresh foliage about May, and flowers 

 and fruits in August and September; the shoots intended for fibre must hi- 

 nt hefore the fruit matures. 



Properties. Mr. G. A. Oammie described (in 1890) the preparation of the 

 hre at Mungpoo in Darjeeling, his description coinciding in almost every 

 tieular with Dr. Campbell's account written in 1847: "The bark is peeled 

 tin- stems in long strips; boiled in water, thickened with common wood- 

 ihes until it is pulpy ; then as much as possible of the adhering bark is 

 pa rated from the fibre by alternately beating with a wooden mallet and wash- 

 ing in cold water. After -this the water is rinsed out, and each bundle of fibre is 

 thickly covered with a paste of micaceous clay, and dried. When thoroughly Clayed. 

 v. the clay and the remaining bark are easily shaken off, leaving the fibre in 

 state fit for use. If fibre is required free from dust, it is repeatedly rinsed 

 til the water runs clear, and then re-dried. The white or bluish- white clay 

 und here and there, near streams, is preferred as it gives the fibre a good 

 lour. If its appearance is of no consequence, yellow clay is said to be 

 effective. I do not know whether the action of the clay is altogether 

 lechanical or not. A few samples which were prepared by treatment with 



. 1 1 chalk were coarse in appearance and rough to the touch ; those treated Use of Limn. 

 day, on the other hand, were soft and silky." It need only be added that 

 ai Minie says " pua is chiefly used for fishing nets and lines. I am told that 

 nierly the Lepchas made cloth from it, but the contraction and expansion 

 ily caused in it by atmospheric changes made it uncomfortable and un- 

 irable for wearing apparel." 



Sarcochlamys puleherrima, Gaud. A large shrub in Assam, D.E.P., 

 e Khasia hills, Sylhet, Chittagong and Burma, and distributed to vi> P*- ii- 

 lumatra. It bears the following names : goldb jam, dogal or ddggal, f7~ , 

 mful, tsatya, shap-sha-pen. Fibre. 



This bark gives a good rope fibre, and the leaves and twigs in conjunction 

 ith the bark of .iifc***< are used in Assam in the production of a madder- 

 rown dye. 



Urtica dioica, Linn., also U. parviflora, Roxb. One or both D.E.P., 

 these plants are met with plentifully near human dwellings on the 

 iinalaya (up to 12,000 feet) from Kashmir eastward to Assam and 

 urma ; also on the mountains of Central, Western and Southern India, 

 altitudes of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. They are given the same names 

 GHmrdinia, 



Properties. The young tops and the hypertrophied shoots (caused through the 

 asitic action of an aecidial fungus) are largely eaten on the Himalaya. Nettle 

 lire was the textile of certain purposes in primitive Europe (Hehn), and still is 

 The word Net is derived from the same root as Nettle. A knowledge 

 of their fibres prevails in India, but it can hardly be said they are manufactured, 

 doubtless was alluding to rrtira jmi-i-i/fi-<> when he said that the 



1G3 



215 6. 



Common 

 Nettle. 



Bdible Parts. 



