134 TEXTILE FIBRES. 



The Fireweed plant is really a Sentcio or Groundsel, annual in 

 duration. It is a native of North America, and is the pest groundsel 

 of newly cleared ground, just as the common groundsel is in England. 

 The plant grows a height of 1J feet, its stems are twiggy or virgate, and 

 the leaves deeply toothed. 



Hibiscus (Lime Tree Leaved) (Hibiscus tiliacem, Malvaceae). This ' 

 plant is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced into England 

 about 1730 as an interesting plant of the Mallow family. The habit of 

 the plant is bushy, and the bast fibres are easily separated from the other 

 tissues of the stem. In Bengal the fibre is known as " Bola." It has 

 been used as cordage, but is said to be better adapted for paper-making 

 purposes. 



Mamaki Bast (Pepturus allidus, Urticaceae). The Pepturus is a 

 kind of nettle. The bast fibres of the stem are used for the making of 

 a native cloth, resembling that prepared from the Paper Mulberry plant. 

 The latter plant may be seen growing in the Water Lily House in the 

 Royal Gardens, Kew. It resembles at first sight an Equisetum of 

 a large type, with pendant, terminal branches. The plant is an 

 aquatic. 



Maize or Indian Corn (Zea Mays, Grammes). This plant is ex- 

 tensively cultivated in India, but its first introduction was from America 

 in 1562. As a monocotyledonous plant the fibro-vascular bundles are 

 scattered in the ground tissue of the culm or stem. 



The fibro-vascular bundles have a clear length of six inches to a foot 

 between the nodes, the actual length depending on the length of the 

 internodes of the stem. The fibrous bundles have been recommended 

 for paper-making. The fruit of maize constitutes the highly nutritious 

 Indian Corn of commerce. 



Musk Okro (Hiliscus Abelmoschus, Malvaceae). The fibres obtained 

 from the stem of this plant are from 3 to 5 feet in length. They are 

 strong, silky, and pliable, and have been used for paper-making. 



The kind of paper known as Bomla, which is said to be almost equal 

 to that made from rags, is made from these fibres. 



In the research department of the Imperial Institute, Cromwell 

 Road, London, an analysis of the Musk Okra fibres has been made, with 

 the following result : 



" The plant in flower was steeped for ten days, and the fibres then 

 examined. Result : Percentage of moisture, 9-7. Ash, 1*4. Hydrolysis 

 loss, a 10'4, I 17. Mercerising loss, 19-9. Nitration gain, 39 '8. 

 Cellulose, 787. Length of ultimate fibre, 3'0 to 4'5." The fibres are 

 stated to be free from reticulation, etc. 



The Musk Okro plant is a native of India. The seeds are large and of 



