MISCELLANEOUS FIBRES 215 



desired for the purpose for which it is intended. It 

 is chiefly supplied from Madagascar where it is derived 

 from Raphia Ruffia. The product usually comes 

 on the market in straw-coloured or pale yellowish- 

 brown strips varying from J inch to f inch in width 

 and from 3 to 4 feet long. Small quantities of coarser 

 kinds of raffia are exported from West Africa where 

 they are obtained from other species of Raphia, 

 especially R. vinifera. 



Exports of Raffia from Madagascar 



Year. Quantity. Value. 



Tons. 



I9H 6,256 137,543 



1912 . . . 6,9^1 I5I>5I7 



1913 5,96l 137,048 



The exports of raffia from Madagascar to the 

 United Kingdom in 1913 amounted to 330 tons, of 

 value 8,491. 



The value of the material varies with the quality ; 

 it is usually quoted in the London market at prices 

 ranging from 25 to 35 per ton. 



PAPER-MAKING MATERIALS 



No account of vegetable fibres would be complete 

 without some reference to the numerous materials 

 used for paper-making. Within the limits of the 

 present work, however, it is only possible to draw 

 attention to some of the principal products used for 

 this purpose, leaving any reader who may be par- 

 ticularly interested in this branch of the subject to 

 consult the special text-books on paper-making. 



The supporting tissue of all the higher plants is 

 composed of fibrous elements which, when isolated 

 from the softer, cellular tissues, can be reduced to a 

 pulp capable of being used, either alone or in admixture, 

 for the manufacture of paper. The practical applica- 

 tion of these products on a commercial scale, however, 

 depends on several factors, such as the supply of the 

 raw material, the cost of collecting and converting it 



15 



