CHAPTER XXI 

 MINOR FIBRE CROPS 



Close at her father's side was the gentle Eyangeline seated, 

 Spinning the flax for the loom, that stood in the corner behind her. 

 Silent awhile were its treadles, at rest was its diligent shuttle, 

 While the monotonous drone of the wheel, like the drone of a bagpipe, 

 Followed the old man's song, and united the fragments together, 



LONGFELLOW, Evangeline. 



FIBRES are used by man in the manufacture of fabrics for 

 clothing and other purposes. Ropes and cables are also made 

 from fibres. Commercial fibres are either of animal or vegetable 

 origin. The chief animal fibres are wool and silk. Plant fibres are 

 formed from cells of plants. The commercial forms are obtained 

 chiefly from cotton, flax, hemp, Manila hemp, Sisal hemp, jute, 

 ramie, Maguey, Istle or Tampico fibre, New Zealand hemp. Only 

 those commercially grown in America will be discussed in this 

 chapter. 



FLAX 



This crop is grown for its fibre as well as for its seed, but it is 

 for seed that it is chiefly grown in America. (See Chapter on 

 Small Grains for a discussion of flax as a grain crop.) 



Flax Fibre. If a flax stem be 'examined, it will be seen that 

 the central portion is largely filled with pith. Surrounding this 

 is a wood layer, then a band composed of clusters of long fibrous 

 cells. This is called bast. Outside of this bast is the middle bark, 

 and then the outer bark or epidermis. It is the bast layer which 

 produces the fibre of commerce. The separation of the fibre from 

 the other tissues is considered later in this chapter. 



Relationships. Flax is the most prominent member of the 

 flax family of plants. It is from the genus Linum that we get the 

 name linen, this cloth being made from flax fibre. 



The wild toad-flax is a closely related plant found in the 

 northern and eastern states. The western Indians used a wild 

 species of flax for making cords, nets and baskets. 



The origin of flax growing is prehistoric. Indeed, the most 



ancient records tell of the use of this crop for the production of 



fibre. Egyptians and Hindoos apparently used the fibre for the 



manufacture of cloth, but there is no record of the ancient use 



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