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In some sections the thick aérial roots are said to serve as corks. 
Other leaf-fibers are woven into “ Ataps,” large shingles, from 
the leaflets of the ‘“‘ Nipah” (Wipa fruticans), a low, stemless palm 
with large, unarmed leaves common in tidal mud in many sections. 
Useful fibers are of rather uncommon occurrence among the 
spore-bearing plants, but among the ferns aay are several species, 
both of tropical and temperate regions, of which the entire stipe 
(stem) is utilized. In order to obtain the Ae. from some species 
the stems are cracked, when the outer brittle portion falls away. 
The central fibrous portion is then scraped with a knife and split 
into small strips which are sharpened at one end and drawn through 
holes of diminishing sizes punctured in a piece of atin. Fiber 
of this sort are used mostly for hats, which are worn by the Malay 
men at their various festivals. Fern-fibers are also used by the 
Hoopa Valley Indians, in northern California. The entire stipe of 
the maiden-hair fern and the dyed fibers sbeained from the stalks 
of one of the chain-ferns are woven into hats, which are said to 
be the ordinary head-dress of the squaws. 
rs are manufactured into many different articles and 
ee usage is common throughout the world. The of the 
cocoanut yields a tough, somewhat elastic fiber aoe i some- 
times made into rope, or more commonly manufactured into door- 
mats 
The variety of uses to which some of the woody fibers are 
applied is almost endless. Of these, the bamboo, “ Bulu”’ of the 
Malays, ranks with the foremost. These plants, the largest of 
the grasses, sometimes attain a height of over sixty feet with a 
diameter of three inches or more. The natives of Java use the 
culms (stems) largely in the construction of their houses. 
young shoots are split into thin strips and used as cordage, while 
the hollow stems serve as pails or conduits for conveying water. 
The rapid growth together with the smoothness and roundness of 
the stem make this plant one of nature’s most valuable gifts to 
the natives, 
Starches occur in the tubers, fruits, and stems of many plants 
and are extracted in various ways. ago, a kind of starch, is a 
product of several species of palms and palm-like plants, the bulk 
