154 JUTE AND SIMILAR FIBRES 



Institute, consisted of soft, lustrous fibre, of pale 

 buff colour and fine and even diameter ; it was of 

 good strength and 5 feet long. The fibre was of 

 excellent quality, and was regarded as worth 35 per 

 ton (with finest Bengal jute at 35-^40 per ton). 



Samples of the fibre of T. rhomboidea from Nyasa- 

 land have also been examined at the Imperial Institute. 

 The fibre was found to be of useful quality and suitable 

 for employment as a substitute for medium grades of 

 jute. 



Urena spp. (natural order, Malvaceae). Urena 

 lobata occurs in India, the United States, South 

 America, Africa, and other countries. The fibre 

 would probably be a good jute substitute. The plant 

 is known in West Africa as " Na fen fe " (Timani), 

 " Subwe " (Mendi), " Ake-iri " (Yoruba). It occurs 

 everywhere along the West African coast, but is 

 extremely variable in the form of its leaves. Good 

 specimens of fibre have been prepared in Sierra Leone, 

 but the plant growing there does not form long, 

 straight stems, and the fibre is therefore rather short. 



Samples of Urena lobata fibre from India have been 

 examined at the Imperial Institute, and found to be 

 fine, soft, lustrous, and of excellent spinning quality. 

 The fibre was very similar to jute, and it was thought 

 that, if produced in commercial quantities, it would 

 realise prices a little in advance of " first marks " 

 Calcutta jute. It is stated that in India by ratooning 

 the plants a second year's crop can be obtained of 

 equal value to that of the first year. 



The product of Urena lobata is known in Brazil as 

 " Aramina " fibre. The coffee trade of Brazil de- 

 mands a supply of about 4 million bags per annum, 

 and large quantities of jute yarn are imported from 

 Dundee for their manufacture. The expansion of 

 the coffee industry caused a search to be made for a 

 Brazilian plant yielding a fibre suitable for the pur- 

 pose, and this led to the discovery of " Aramina." 

 A Company is now in existence at Sao Paulo, which 

 was formed in 1905, to promote the cultivation of this 

 plant, and to manufacture textiles and cordage from 

 " Aramina " fibre and jute. A large factory has 



