518 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



become celebrated for some years, having already afforded a vast 

 quantity of material for British paper-mills. During 1870 the 

 export of esparto-ropes into England was 18,500 tons, while the 

 raw material to the extent of about 130,000 tons was imported. 

 In 1889 Great Britain imported of Esparto and other vegetable 

 fibres for paper-mills 385,000 tons, representing a value of over 

 two million pounds sterling. It is tall and perennial, and would 

 prove a valuable acquisition anywhere, inasmuch as it lives on any 

 kind of poor soil, occurring naturally on sand and gravel, as well 

 as on clayey, calcareous or gypseous soil and even on the very 

 brink of the coast. Possibly the value of some Australian grasses, 

 allied to the Atocha, may in a like manner become commercially 

 established ; and mainly with this view paper-samples of several 

 grass-kinds were prepared by the writer. (See "Report Industrial 

 Exhibition, Melbourne, 1867.") Even in the scorching heat of the 

 forbidding Sahara-region the Atocha maintains itself, particularly 

 where the soil is somewhat calcareous, and it may thus yet be 

 destined to play an important part in the introduced vegetation of 

 any arid places of desert-tracts, particularly where lime and gypsum 

 exist. The very tenacious fibre resists decay, and is much employed 

 for the manufacture of ropes, also for baskets, mats, hats, and other 

 articles. Extensive culture of this grass has commenced in the 

 south of France. It is pulled once a year, in the earlier part of .the 

 summer. The propagation can be effected from seeds, but is done 

 usually by division of the root. Ten tons of dry Esparto, worth 

 from 4 to 5 each, can be obtained from an acre under favorable 

 circumstances. The supply has fallen short of the demand. Good 

 writing-paper is made from Esparto without admixture ; the process 

 is similar to that for rags, but cleaner. The price of Esparto-paper 

 ranges from 40 to 50 for the ton. It is now, however, much 

 rivalled for paper-material by Pine-wood. The produce of Algeria 

 in 1890 was about 200,000 tons, of which 75~000 tons went to 

 England [Brockhaus]. The world's requirements of material for 

 paper-mills is now annually such as to turn out about 3,000,000 of 

 tons of paper. Stipa arenaria (Brotero) is a closely allied and still 

 taller species, confined to Spain and Portugal. Consul W. P. Marks 

 and Mr. G. Noble deserve great praise for having brought the Atocha 

 into commercial and manufactural recognition. Mr. Christy notes, 

 that half its weight consists of fibre, fit for paper-mills. See further 

 his important publications on new commercial plants. Stipa 

 pennata, S. capillata and S. elegantissima will grow in pure sand, 

 are pretty for bouquets ; the latter liked by pasture-animals [G. 

 Simpson] ; it grows best on lime-stone soil. 



Streblus asper, Loureiro. 



South-Asia. This bears a good recommendation for live fences, 

 being a shrub of remarkable closeness of branches. 



