FIBERS IN GENERAL 223 



worm makes its cocoon, were used very early in certain re- 

 gions as materials for fabrics, but in general it is safe to say 

 that vegetable fibers have been far more extensively used 

 than animal fibers even from prehistoric times. 



As civilization has advanced, and man's needs have mul- 

 tiplied, the uses of vegetable fibers have also multiplied, and 

 their importance in daily life has increased enormously. 

 To-day as their properties are better understood and their 

 wonderful possibilities more fully realized, these fibers are 

 coming to be used more and more in place of animal fibers 

 and other animal products. It is true that mineral fibers, 

 such as asbestos and spun glass, and metals in the form of 

 wire, are replacing vegetable fibers to a limited extent; but 

 in spite of this the consumption of fibers from plants is 

 steadily- increasing. Thej^ are now used most extensively as 

 materials for fabrics, cordage, plaiting, matting, wickerwork, 

 thatch, brushes, stiffening, filling, paper, and various cellulose 

 products. 



Fabrics are made of especially flexible fibers spun or twisted into 

 yarns, threads, or cords, which are then variously intertwined by 

 weaving, braiding, knitting, or netting. According to its texture a 

 fabric may serve for wearing apparel, house-furnishing, decoration, 

 awnings, sails, tape, belts, girths, webbing, burlap, gunny bagging, 

 hammocks, nets, or lace. The finer fabrics are among the greatest 

 triumphs of human skill and constitute the most highly developed 

 of fiber products. Cordage includes yarn or thread for sewing or 

 needlework, twine, fish-lines, cords, ropes, and cables. These 

 consist, for the most part, of especially strong fibers, which are 

 twisted into strands and then "laid" or twisted again in such a 

 manner that they will not freely untwist. PIniting consists of flat 

 fibrous strands sufficiently pliable to be folded into plaits or flat 

 braids and used for straw hats, fine basketry, and the like. Matting 

 consists of elastic fibrous strands woven or braided into mats or 

 screens. Wickerwork is made of supple t^^-igs, strips of wood or 

 similar fibrous strands interlaced to form hampers and other stout 

 baskets, or chairs and similar articles of furniture. Thatch consists 

 of strips of fibrous material, overlapped and fastened so as to shed 

 water, as on a roof. Brushes, including brooms and whisks, require 

 fibers of special stiffness and elasticit3^ Stiffening, which is mixed 

 with plaster like cow's hair to give cohesion, calls for fibers wliich 

 are at once strong and able to resist the softening influence of the 

 plaster. Filling, such as the stuffing used in upholstery, calking for 

 the seams of water-craft, casks, etc., and packing for objects to be 



