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 OF 



. UNIVERSITY 1 

 VEGETABLE SILKS. J 75 



X^ 



hammocks have also been made of pita, some of which have sold for as 

 much as $50. 



Samples of this fibre have been sent to the United States and to 

 Europe, where it has been manufactured into a variety of articles, such 

 as handkerchiefs, laces, ribbons, wigs, false hair, etc. It is claimed that 

 it can be successfully employed as a substitute for either silk or linen. 

 It can be purchased of the Indians in the backwoods, nicely prepared 

 in rolls or skins of about 12 ounces each, for 25 cents per roll. In the 

 cities and towns of the interior it is sold in small quantities to shoemakers 

 and others for $1 per pound, 



The cost of preparing it for market by the native system is too great, 

 and the quantity prepared too small, for it to become an article of export. 

 With suitable machinery thousands of tons could be extracted from the 

 wild pita fields of Honduras, and when these are exhausted it could be 

 cultivated with the greatest facility. 



There can be no doubt that this valuable fibre is destined to become 

 a very important element in the future commerce and industry of 

 America. It is intended to forward to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

 some samples of the fibre as prepared by the Indians, and also some leaves 

 and growing plants, as soon as they can be obtained from the mainland. 

 The New York and Honduras Fibre Company, after spending a large 

 amount of money, was obliged to give up their enterprise because their 

 fibre machine was a failure. Their plant, including an engine of 25 

 H.P., a sawmill, a steam barge, and a large assortment of tools and 

 fixtures, has practically been abandoned. 



Silk Cotton, Red, or Semal Cotton (Bombax malabaricum, 

 Sterculiacese). These flossy silky fibres are the seed-coverings of a large 

 tree found growing in India, the Bombax malabaricum. The 

 capsular fruit is inversely cone-shaped, and when ripe it opens longi- 

 tudinally into four lanceolate segments. The fibres have not, so far, 

 been used for textile purposes, but they have received some attention 

 from hat-makers, with a view to their utilisation for felting purposes. 

 Dr Eoyle says : " Hitherto the fibres have been found too short for 

 textile purposes, and the dirty state of all consignments, burdened with 

 the seeds, has precluded the Semal from competing with the Java 

 apok in upholstery." 



Fig. 46 is a reduced illustration of the two bony segments of the 

 four-valved capsule in which the silky fibres are attached to the seeds, 

 but are easily removed. The seeds are wrinkled, and the silky fibres are 

 easily detached. 



Fig. 47 shows the flossy or plumose fibres when the seeds have been 

 removed. It is a matter for consideration whether these fibres could not 



