528 



USEFUL PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS 



To the mulberry family belong the paper mulberries, which 

 furnish bark from which the beautiful Japanese paper is made, 

 and the hemp plant, which is one of the chief rope- and cordage- 

 making materials. 



To the nettle family belongs ramie, an eastern Asiatic 

 plant cultivated in Jamaica and the southern United States, 

 from which Chinese grass cloth and other fabrics are made. 



Three closely related groups of plants the linden family, 

 the mallow family, and the silk cotton family yield many 

 fibrous or hair-like products of use for spinning and weaving, 



or for mattress mak- 

 ing and similar pur- 

 poses. From the 

 bark of trees of the 

 first-named family is 

 obtained the Russian 

 bass, or bast, used 

 for making rough 

 mats, and the tropi- 

 cal product jute, used 

 to weave with silk, 

 and also for carpets, 

 mats, and coarse 

 bags. From the hairs 

 which clothe the seed of the cotton plant (the most important 

 member of the mallow family) all cotton goods are manufac- 

 tured. Cotton is largely cultivated in India, Egypt, and our own 

 country. It is an important crop in all of our Gulf states, and 

 in Georgia and South Carolina. The seed hairs of the tropical 

 silk cotton trees (Ceiba) are coming to be much used in pillows 

 and cushions as a substitute for feathers. 



Most vegetable fibers, such as have been described in this 

 chapter, are useful for paper making, even after the rope or 

 woven fabrics made from them have been worn until they are 

 dropping to pieces. Large areas of forest, particularly of spruce 



FIG. 391. Century plants (Agave) 

 After Frye 



