550 FIBRES 



north or north-western districts of Ceylon, for the sake of the 

 strong and useful fibre obtained from the stems by retting. 

 It is also sometimes cultivated as a green fodder plant for cattle, 

 as well as for green-manuring. In cultivation, seeds are sown 

 thickly, either broadcast or in drills generally broadcast if for fibre; 

 the quantity of seed sown per acre varies greatly, from 12 to 80 Ib. 

 per acre. The plant is invariably grown as a catch-crop, not 

 mixed with other products. In India the crop is sown with the 

 beginning of the rains, and occupies the ground usually for four or 

 five years, being cut when the plants blossom. In harvesting, 

 the plants are usually pulled up by the roots, though sometimes 

 cut close to the ground, and left on the field for a few days 

 to wither ; they are then stripped of the leaves and tied in 

 bundles of about a hundred stalks. The bundles are dried 

 for two or three weeks, then placed in pools (preferably of 

 still shallow water) and weighted down with stones or wood 

 logs ; they are thus left for five or six days to ret. The fibre 

 is afterwards stripped off, washed, bleached, and plaited into 

 tails. A good average yield is considered to afford about 640 Ib. 

 (or 80 maunds) of clean fibre per acre. The price of the fibre 

 varies greatly in India according to quality, from about Rs. 1 1 to 

 Rs. 18 per cwt. The best grade is said to come from Bombay, 

 and is about 4 ft. long. In London the fibre is said to be 

 worth about 16 per ton. The chief use of the fibre in India 

 is for making coarse canvas, cordage, and fishing nets. With 

 cultivation, the plant may be grown on almost any soil, but a 

 light rich soil is considered to suit it best, a clayey or inundated 

 land being the least suitable. 



OTHER IMPORTANT FIBRE AND TEXTILE 



PLANTS OF THE TROPICS. 



[See also Chapters XXII & XXII I]. 



Those marked * are common or indigenous in Ceylon. 



Bo-anica. or Common Name. Natural Order in Italics. 



Purpose for which 

 principally used. 



Abroma augusta \Sterculiaccae. Perennial 



shrub of Ind. & Java 

 *Allaeanthus zeylanicus. \Urticaceae. A spreading 



Cordage. 

 Ropes, etc. 



"Alandu" S. tree, peculiar to Ceylon 

 *Ananas sativum. Pineapple fibre Bromeliacciic. See Tropi- Textile fabrics. 



cal Prints 



[.S.=-Sinhaltse] 



