VEGETABLE SILK. 71 



Nearly all the vegetable silk fibres are plumose appendages to the fruits 

 or seeds of the plants upon which they are borne, and in most cases they 

 serve to assist in the dispersion of the seeds. 



Kapok (Eriodendron anfractuosum, Sterculiacese) is an illustra- 

 tion of the light, soft, silky, flossy fibres of Kapok. It has been 

 suggested to blend the silky, flossy fibres of Kapok with fur fibres from 

 the Coney or the Hare in making hats ; but if this were done it would 

 be necessary to reduce the amount of fan draught, owing to their light- 

 ness, and to the fact that they are not usually charged with a heavy 

 amount of impurities. The fibres of Kapok are thin and transparent 

 with almost smooth surfaces, as seen under the microscope. Their uni- 

 formity of diameter is well marked. They might perhaps be worked in 

 with other silky fibres under pressure, but this would require the use of 

 some adhesive preparation. The fibres are extremely light, and the length 

 less than half an inch. 



Referring to the Kapok or Silk Cotton tree, Mr. John E. Jackson, 

 A.L.S., says : " It belongs to the same natural order as the Bombax, and 

 has a wide tropical distribution through India, Ceylon, South America, 

 the West Indies, and Tropical Africa. The fruits vary considerably in 

 size and shape ; the usual form is, however, about 3 or 4 inches long by 

 2^ inches in diameter across the centre, tapering at both ends. When 

 ripe and dry it has a woody covering of a yellowish buff colour, and splits 

 open longitudinally, exposing the silky fibrous contents. Under the 

 name of ' Kapok ' this silky floss is now exported in very large quantities 

 from Java, both to Europe and Australia. It is a trade of quite recent 

 creation, and was started entirely by the Dutch merchants. The only 

 use to which it is put is for stuffing mattresses and cushions, being, like 

 the floss of Bombax malabaricum, too short and brittle for spinning pur- 

 poses. As a stuffing material it is, however, superior to that from 

 Bombax, as it is said not to mat so readily. As an illustration of the 

 rapidity with which this substance took in the European and Australian 

 markets, it may be stated that the exports from Netherlands India in 

 1822 amounted to 302,201 kilos, and in 1885 they had risen to 600,269 

 kilos." 



Kumbi or Galgal (Cochlospermum Gossypium, Cistacese). The silky 

 fibres of Kumbi are produced in tightly packed, ovate, acuminate pods. 

 The seeds are used for the stuffing of cushions and mattresses. The soft 

 silky fibres are well adapted for stuffing without cohesion. 



The Gumbi tree grows wild on the rough mountainous slopes in India. 

 Sir J. D. Hooker mentions this tree in his Himalayan Journals as 

 follows: "We marched on the 28th to Kota, at the junction of the 

 river of that name with the Soane, over hills of flinty rock, which 



