Director'' s Annual Report. 43 



of the plant furnish the walls, floors and thatch. It is employed in 

 the construction of ships and bridges, and for every conceivable 

 article of household furniture. Ropes, ladders, water conduits, 

 outriggers, baskets, fans and hats only suggest some of the uses of 

 this invaluable plant. The process of paper making from the 

 bambu in China is simple. A thin layer of split stems is placed in 

 a tank, and upon these a layer of lime. Alternate bambu and 

 lime layers are continued until the tank is full, when water is ad- 

 mitted and the whole allowed to remain till the bambu is thoroughly 

 disintegrated. The pulp is then pounded in a mortar and spread 

 in layers to 6xy . 



The papyrus, another useful grass, grows well in this climate 

 and is found in many gardens. The paper of the Egyptians was 

 prepared by removing the central pith from the stalk and laying 

 the strips side by side ; another layer w^as placed at right angles to 

 the first and the whole soaked in water, pressed and dried. 



BOW STRING HBMP. 



Endogen. Structural Fibre. Liliacea;. Sansevieria zeylanica. 



This remarkable fibrous plant belongs to the same order as 

 New Zealand flax and the Yuccas. It grows extensively in India, 

 Java, Guinea and China, and the tenacity and durability of its 

 fibre has commended it to the natives of many countries for their 

 bow-strings. The plant is a stemless perennial bearing a rosette 

 of radical leaves, smooth, erect, linear-lanceolate, copiously macu- 

 lated on each side with a lighter shade of green. Its florescence is 

 racemose, resembling the agaves. 



The fibre of Sansevieria possesses in an eminent degree those 

 properties demanded of a successful textile or cordage material. 

 It is white, fine, soft, pliant and lustrous, resembling pineapple 

 fibre in many of these attributes. Its elasticity is great, and its 

 resistance to moisture is more pronounced than that of hemp. In 

 tenacity this fibre is about equal to Sisal, which it surpasses in 

 most other qualities. The cultivation of sansevieria is simple, as 

 it requires no care. The gardens of Honolulu contain many evi- 

 dences of the plant's adaptability to this climate. The propagation 

 is bj' division of the rhizomes or the leaves may be cut in lengths 

 and inserted two inches deep in boxes, when after a few weeks 

 they will develop fibrous roots and suckers will be put forth. The 



