ARTICHOKE BOWSTRING. 7 



fibres obtained from the leaves are characterised by their length, fineness, 

 and silkiness. Mr. John R. Jackson, A.L.S., says : " Samples of this 

 fibre have been valued in London at from 20 to 35 per ton." 



As rope cordage fibres they have been held in high repute ; they 

 have also been found serviceable in the making of a good quality of 

 paper, but the process is rather too costly. Some experiments upon 

 Bowstring hemp were made many years ago by Dr. Forbes Watson. 

 In a paper read before the Society of Arts, he said : " This plant 

 grows as a weed in Madras and other parts of India. In fact it is such 

 a nuisance that the people sometimes do not know what to do with it. 



Fig. 3. Sanseviera Zeylanica. 



The sample which I hold in my hand was prepared upon the occasion 

 to which I have alluded. Here is a sample which is prepared on the 

 commercial scale in India by this machine (' Death and Ellwood's '), and 

 I may say, with regard to that particular fibre, that it has proved that 

 it will compete fairly with Manila hemp, which occupies a very important 

 place in this market. Here is a sample of cord made from it, and you 

 can all see how beautiful and white it is. This cord is made by one of 

 the principal makers in the kingdom, and his report is that it is 7*4 (? per 

 cent.) stronger than the best Manila, and over 4 per cent, lighter. This 

 machine has been the means already of bringing this new and important 

 fibre into notice, and it operates upon the plant which produces it with 



