COTTON 



AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBRES 



CHAPTER I 

 INTRODUCTORY 



VEGETABLE fibres are in general more or less fila- 

 mentous or thread-like products, consisting of the 

 tougher and more resistant parts of plants, and 

 possessing considerable strength and flexibility. In 

 virtue of these characteristics, they are of great 

 economic value for the manufacture of durable 

 materials, such as are required for clothing, sacking, 

 floor coverings, and cordage, as well as for paper- 

 making and many other purposes. 



They may be classified (i) in accordance with the 

 part of the plant from which they are derived, and (2) 

 according to the economic uses to which they are 

 applied. These two schemes may be referred to as 

 morphological and economic respectively. 



Morphological Classification. The vegetable fibres of 

 commerce are derived from various parts of plants as 

 indicated below : 



(1) The hairs borne on the seeds or on the inner 

 walls of the fruit or capsule. Cotton is the principal 

 member of this class, which also includes kapok and 

 other flosses or silk-cottons. Each hair consists of a 

 single, long, narrow cell, free from transverse parti- 

 tions. 



(2) The fibres of which the inner bark or bast tissue 

 of stems is composed. This class is represented by 

 flax, hemp, jute, ramie and related products. The 



