324 



The World's Commercial Products 



are either cut with a sickle or pulled 

 up b}' hand. Bundles of the stems 

 cleared of the leaves are placed in 

 water for the retting process which 

 is complete in a few days. The 

 operator then separates the bark 

 and wood from the fibre in a way 

 very similar to that employed for 

 jute, viz., by dashing the retted 

 stems upon the surface of the water 

 until the cleaned fibre becomes 

 separated. The drying is effected by 

 hanging the fibre upon bamboo sup- 

 ports exposed to the sun, a process 

 which also bleaches the fibre. 



By permission of Mr. Thomas Barraclougli 



SCUTCHING MACHINE 



Coir 

 Coir, or coco-nut fibre, is ob- 

 tained from the outer husk of the 

 coco-nut, the fruit of the coco-nut palm, a tall graceful tree from sixty to a hundred feet 

 high, bearing a crown of large feathery leaves and spikes of small flowers. In commerce, 

 the chief coco-nut products are oil and fibre, the latter being known to the trade as "coir." 

 The ripe coco-nut as it occurs on the tree is a large, oval body, angular in section, and 

 with one end somewhat' pointed ; the thick outer husk is composed of fibres densely packed 

 together, and surrounds the " nut " so familiar in this country. In preparing coir for the 

 market, the object is to separate the outer husk from the inner nut and to obtain the cleaned 

 fibre. In Ceylon the husks are split open by forcing them against a pointed stick fixed in the 

 ground. The next process is to soak the husks in water, the soaking being carried out either 

 in pits or in brick, iron, or wooden tanks into which steam can be admitted to warm the water. 

 Great care is taken to avoid over-soaking, but when the husks are sufficiently softened they 

 are beaten with wooden mallets and then rubbed between the hands until all the interstitial 

 tissue has been removed from the fibre, which is then ready for drying. In the European 

 factories, however, machinery has been substituted for hand labour. 



Coir fibre is coarse, clean, stiff, and very elastic, and although not of great strength is 

 largely used in the East as a rope and cordage material on account of its power of withstanding 

 the action of sea-water. 



The screw pines also afford a useful matting material. Their leaves are cut into strips, 

 and used for making bags, mats, wrappers, etc. 



" Russia mats " are made from strips of the inner bast of the Lime tree. 



BRUSH FIBRES 



An important application ot vegetable fibres in the arts is for the manufacture of 

 brushes and brooms. In a 'few cases the stems of the plant are sufficiently fine and 

 elastic to "be used directly for the purpose, as in the case of the Broom Millet, where the 

 fruiting stalks are cleaned of the seed and used 'for the well-known "Venetian whisks" of 

 Italy, and for other kinds of brushes. The roots of the Mexican grass, known to the trade as 

 "Broom root," are also imported into Germany and France, where they are manufactured 

 into cheap brushes and shipped to the United States. Again, the roots of Khus Khus 

 grass, a native of India, are said to be used by the weavers of that country in arranging 

 the threads on the loom, although the fibre is best known as the material from which 

 the fragrant screens, or " tatties," are made. 



