46 SELECT PLANTS FOR INDUSTRIAL CULTURE 



Bark of a strong somewhat aromatic odour. Several Birches 

 occur in Japan, which might well be tried here. 



Betula lutea, Michaux. 



The Yellow or Grey Birch of North-East America. Adapted 

 for moist forest-land. In size and most other respects similar 

 to B. lenta. The wood is used for shoelasts. 



Betula nigra, Linne. 



The River Birch of North America. One of the tallest of 

 Birches. If grown on the banks of a limpid stream, it will 

 bear intense heat. The wood is compact, of a light colour, 

 easily worked, excellent for turnery, also in use by cabinet- 

 makers and carriage-builders, well adapted to sustain shocks 

 and friction (Robb). The bark is well adapted for roofing. 



Betula papyracea, Alton. 



The Paper Birch of North America. A larger tree than B. 

 alba, with a fine-grained wood and a tough bark ; the latter 

 much used for portable canoes. It likes a cold situation. 



Boehmeria nivea, Gaudichaud.* 



The Ramee or Rheea. Southern Asia, as far east as Japan. 

 This bush furnishes the strong and beautiful fibre woven into 

 fabric, which inappropriately is called grass-cloth. The bark is 

 softened by hot water or steam, and then separable into its 

 tender fibres. The best is obtained from the young shoots ; it 

 is glossy, tough, and lasting, combining to some extent the 

 appearance of silk with the strength of flax. The ordinary 

 market value of the fibre is about 40 per ton ; but Dr. Royle 

 mentions that it has realised, at times, 120. The seeds are 

 sown on manured or otherwise rich and friable soil. In the 

 third year, or under very favourable circumstances even earlier, 

 it yields its crops, as many as three annually. The produce of 

 an acre has been estimated at two tons of fibre. This latter, 

 since Kaempfer's time, has been known to be extensively used 

 for ropes and cordage in Japan. Rich forest valleys seem best 

 adapted for the Ramee, as occasional irrigation can be there 

 applied. In the open grounds of Victoria it suffers from the 

 night frosts, although this does not materially injure the plant, 

 which sends up fresh shoots, fit for fibre, during the hot season. 

 The plant has been cultivated and distributed since 1 854, in the 

 Botanic Garden of Melbourne, where it is readily propagated 

 from cuttings, the seeds ripening rarely there. Cordage of 

 this Boehmeria is three times as strong as that of hemp. 



