40 TEXTILE FIBRES. 



is favourable to it, and swampy ground, where the water can pass away 

 without being stagnant, is also advantageous. 



Several varieties of the plant have been brought out by cultivators, 

 and have received local names, such as " Common Swamp," " Yellow 

 Hill," etc. 



Before a plant is fit for cutting it is essential that it should grow 

 for five or six years. Constant cutting, however, weakens the plant. 

 The young leaves in the central part of the rosette should be allowed to 

 grow until they are mature. 



The New Zealand Government has undertaken numerous experiments 

 with a view to making its culture profitable, but hitherto without success. 

 Dr Morris says : "It may be mentioned that the fibre of Phormium 

 is neither a flax nor a hemp in the usual acceptation ; it would be more 

 correct to call it simply 'Phormium fibre.' It is one of the oldest 

 exports from New Zealand." 



In Phormium plantations it has been found that an acre will produce 

 about ten tons. To such perfection has the cleaning of the fibre been 

 carried that damasks and table cloths resembling a linen fabric have 

 been woven from the yarn. 



In the New Zealand Official Year Book for 1894, it was stated : 

 " The greatest improvement of the present system will be effected by the 

 cultivation and careful selection of the leaves, and by the substitution 

 of a chemical retting process for the prolonged washing and sun bleach- 

 ing which at present obtains." 



The refuse fibres of Phormium have been recommended for paper- 

 making purposes, and if an opening can be properly made in this direction, 

 it will probably be more profitable in the end than when used as a 

 cordage fibre, for which purpose it has met with doubtful success. 



The best and finest fibre has a silky lustre and is procured from the 

 fresh green leaves without macerations ; this is done by the native 

 New Zealanders, who use a comb for the purpose. They thus separate 

 the fleshy portions from bundles of the leaf, in which the fibres lie parallel 

 to each other. The soft cellular tissue in which the fibres are embedded 

 is easily removed without leaving any hardened gummy material on their 

 lateral surfaces. At a very early date the fibres obtained from the leaf 

 were used for mats, twines and ropes. 



Nettle Fibre (Urtica dioica, Urticacese). This is the common 

 nettle that grows under walls, hedge banks and about waysides generally. 

 The stem is square. The leaves are ovate, serrate, opposite and decussate. 

 The fibrous bundles of the stem are tough, and have been found suitable 

 for the making of ropes. The roots when boiled with alum dyes yarn a 

 yellow colour. 



