MARSDENIA 

 Tenacissima 



KAJMAHAL HEMP 



Washing. 



West verszts 

 East Indian. 



The rhizomes are then pounded to pulp in a mortar or reduced to that condition 

 on a grater. The pulp is then thrown into a vessel of water, which becomes 

 turbid or milky while a portion of the pulp remains suspended as a fibrous mass. 

 This fibrous portion is lifted out, rinsed, pounded once more and again thrown 

 into water, lifted out a second time, rinsed, and then thrown away. The milky- 

 looking fluid thus obtained from these several washings is now strained through 

 a coarse cloth to remove any particles of the fibre and other impurities, the 

 liquid being thus passed into another vessel, and when the sediment has settled, 

 the water is gently poured off and clean water added. This is again stirred up 

 and strained through a fine cloth, and, on settling, the water is once more care- 

 fully and gently drained away. The sediment that remains now consists of 

 pure arrowroot, and is dried on sheets of paper by exposure to the sun, and 

 packed ready for the market. It is a tasteless and colourless powder, which might 

 be spoken of as consisting of pure starch granules. [Cf. Hanausek, Micro. Tech. 

 Prod. (Winton and Barber, transl.), 1907, 43-4.] 



The genuine West Indian arrowroot may be readily distinguished from East 

 Indian by its pure white colour and by its swelling in boiling water. [Cf. Milburn, 

 Or. Comm., 1813, ii., 207; De Candolle, Orig. Cult. Plants, 1882, 81-2 ; Mason, 

 Burma and Its People (ed. Theobald), 1883, ii., 209 ; Nicholls, Textbook Trop. 

 Agri., 1892, 278-83 ; St. Vincent Arrowroot, Kew Bull., 1893, 191 ; also Bermuda 

 Arrowroot, 1898, 50; Manuf. of Arrowroot in Ceylon, Trop. Agrist., Feb. 1, 1895, 

 xiv., 557; Dodge, Useful Fibre Plants of the World, 1897, 235; Semler, Trop. 

 Agrik., 1900, ii., 747-66; Woodrow, Gard. in 2nd., 1903, 480-1 ; A. W. and 

 M. W. Blyth, Foods, etc., 1903, 141, 144-5; Agri. Ledg., 1904, No. 10, 135; 

 L Agri. Prat, des Pays Chauds, 1904, iii., 757-8.] 



D.E.P., 

 v., 188-92. 



Rajmahal 

 Hemp. 



Fibre. 



Blue Dve. 



MARSDENIA, Br. ; Fl. Br. Ind., iv., 34-7 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. 

 Timbs., 1902, 492-3 ; Prain, Beng. Plants, 1903, ii., 695-6 ; Cooke, FL 

 Pres. Bomb., 1904, ii., 165-7 ; ASCLEPIADACE^E. 



M. Roylei, Wight murkula, pathor, tar, veri, kurang, kharchu, shengori, etc. 

 A climbing shrub of the Himalaya, from Sikkim westwards, ascending to alti- 

 tudes of 7,000 feet. It yields a fibre from which fishing-nets, lines and strong ropes 

 are manufactured. 



M. tenacissima, Wight & Am. / Rajmahal Hemp, tongus, jiti (chiti), babal 

 jak, etc. A climbing shrub of the Sub-Himalayan tracts from the Jumna to 

 Nepal and extending South to Oudh, Bihar and Chota Nagpur ; Chittagong 

 and Upper Burma. 



The bark of the stem yields a valuable FIBRE, which was said by Royle to 

 be the second best in India. By the hill tribes it is used chiefly for bow-strings 

 and netting. The fibre was examined in 1886 by Cross and Bevan, who reported 

 that it was of excellent quality and in point of fineness and durability ranked 

 next to rhea. More recently a sample was sent to the Imperial Institute for 

 examination. It was found to contain little or no lignocellulose, and to be 

 exceptionally resistent to the action of alkalis. The remarkable quality of the 

 fibre was also shown by the unusually high percentage of cellulose and by the 

 large increase of weight on nitration. The length of the ultimate fibre was 

 found to be 10 to 30 mm. Specimens were also submitted to leading firms of 

 fibre brokers for commercial valuation. One reported that the fibre, though 

 short, was of great strength, and another that it was very strong, but harsh. 

 The sample, of a length of 12 to 15 inches, was valued at 15 to 18 per ton, but 

 it was stated if fibre 30 to 35 inches long could be sent, its value would probably 

 be 35 to 40 per ton. In view of these facts the question arises whether experi- 

 ments in cultivating the plant might not be undertaken, and whether the fibre 

 could be successfully treated by machinery. [Cf. Royle, Fibrous PI. 2nd., 

 1855, 304-5 ; Dodge, Useful Fibre Plants of the World, 1897, 235-6 ; Dunstan, 

 Rept. on Marsdenia tenacissima, Imp. Inst., July 9, 1903 ; Aqri. Ledq., 1904, 

 No. 8.] 



M. tinctoria, /?. Br. / ryom, riyong, kali lara, mai-nwai, etc. A large climbing shrub 

 of the Sikkim Himalaya, Assam, the Khasia hills, Northern Burma and the 

 Circars. This species also yields a fibre, but is more especially interesting on 

 account of the indigo DYE yielded by the leaves. At the beginning of last cen- 

 tury Roxburgh recommended its cultivation, but nothing appears to have been 

 done, nor has the value of the dye been commercially tested. (See Indigo, p. 663.) 



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