1 66 THE USES OF PLANTS. 



of the second, and 23 of the third ; many of these, 

 however, are only used locally, or have not, at all 

 events, ever been articles of English home commerce. 

 Nevertheless, so rapid has been the advance in this 

 industry that several fibres not included in this list 

 are now in use, and considerable influence in the in- 

 troduction of wood-pulp as a paper-material and of 

 various new fibres must fairly be ascribed to such 

 exhibitions as the Edinburgh Forestry Exhibition of 

 1884, and the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 

 1886. 



In 1837 Sunn-hemp, China-grass, and Rhea and 

 Pineapple fibre were not in use in this country ; 

 whilst the Jute industry at Dundee was on a some- 

 what tentative scale. In 1851 the fibres just men- 

 tioned had been recently introduced, and those of 

 Marsdenia tenacissima, Wight and Arn., the ' Jetee ' 

 or' Rajmahal bow-string hemp,' of Calotropis gigantea, 

 Br., and C. procera, R. Br., the * Yercum ' or ' Mudar,' 

 of Sanseviera zeylanica, Willd., the ' Moorghae ' or 

 ' Marool,' and of Hibiscus, were recommended. 



Again, in 1851 Paper was made entirely from rags 

 or straw, whilst in 1875 we imported, as against 52,500 

 tons of rags and pulp, 141,900 tons of Alpha, or so- 

 called Esparto Grass. This latter amount rose the 

 following year to 150,000 tons, and by 1880 to 200,000. 

 In 1877, among materials employed in this manufac- 

 ture, Professor Archer enumerates* rags, straw, alpha, 

 gunny-bags (jute), and experimentally Chamcerops 

 kumilis, L v Agave, Musa textilis (Manila hemp), Phor- 

 mium tenax, Forst. (New Zealand flax), Broussonetia, 



* Bevan's ' Manufacturing Industries.' 



