ECONOMIC OR USEFUL PLANTS 



435 



ganized, so that the tough elongated fibers are easily freed. 

 After lying on the ground for eight to twelve weeks it is set up in 

 shocks to dry (fig. 404). It is broken and cleaned by hand, or 

 by machine (figs. 404, 405). Ramie, also called China grass, silk 

 grass, ramie-hemp, etc., is the fiber from a shrub (Bcehmeria 

 nivea) native in China and the Malay Islands, where it has long 

 been cultivated for its fiber, which is used for making fish nets, 

 cloth, etc., while in China and Japan some beautiful textile fabrics 

 are made from it. It 

 is cultivated to some 

 extent in the south- 

 eastern United States. 

 The name hemp is also 

 applied to fiber used for 

 similar purposes and 

 obtained from plants 

 belonging to a number 

 of different families. 

 Manila hemp comes 

 from a species of ba- 

 nana (Musa textilis) and 

 is extensively cultivated 



Fig. 406. 



Agave elongata. Sisal from the henequen plant on the 

 dock, ready for shipment from Progreso, Yucatan. The 

 henequen plant, cultivated in Yucatan, produces more than 

 nine-tenths of the fiber called "sisal" used in the manufac- 

 ture of binder twine. It can be grown successfully only 

 in the Tropics. More than $33,000,000 worth (Mexican 

 silver) of this fiber are exported from Progreso every year, 

 and about $15,000,000 worth, gold, are imported into the 

 United States to be used chiefly in the manufacture of 

 binder twine. From Fiber Investigations, U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



in the Philippine Is- 

 lands. "Sisal,"or"sisal 

 hemp," is obtained 



from the henequen plant, a species of Agave, especially Agave 

 elongata. It is grown in the tropics, a large quantity being grown 

 in Yucatan. More than nine-tenths of the " sisal " used in mak- 

 ing binder twine is made from the henequen plant. 



585. The elm family (Ulmaceae) includes a number of trees. 

 Our most prominent one is the American elm (Ulmus americana), 

 a large tree valuable for lumber. It is much planted for shade 

 and as an ornamental tree. It is one of the most rapidly grow- 

 ing trees. 



586. The mulberry family (Morace;c) includes the mul- 

 berry tree, which is grown for its fruit and as a shade tree. The 



