XX. FIBER-PRODUCING PLANTS 



PLANTS that are grown for their fibers are usually spoken of as 

 fiber plants. There are two common sources of fibers, plants and 

 animals. Perhaps the simplest test for distinguishing between the 

 two kinds is by burning. The vegetable fibers burn to a white 

 powdery ash, while the animal fibers leave a crisp coal. The 

 most important plant fibers are cotton, flax, jute, hemp, ramie, 

 sisal, maguey, and Tampico or istle. The most important animal 

 fibers are wool and silk. 



Cotton is supposed to have been first cultivated in southeastern 

 India and from there it is said to have been brought to Europe by 



^ I to 20 bales per square mile 

 overSO 



Alexander the Great. It was found in cultivation in Mexico, the 

 West Indies, Brazil, and Peru at the time the western continent 

 was discovered. At first the great labor and cost necessary to 

 remove the lint from the seed made it a somewhat unprofitable 

 crop. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1792 

 removed some of these difficulties. Later improvements in meth- 



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