TH;E CUBA review 15 



support 175 times its own weight. It is claimed that a man wearing a kapok waistcoat would 

 float like a cork, and that no amount of soaking would ruin it; nor can it decaj', for the hairs 

 contain no protoplasm, being nothing but thin shells of cellulose which do not nourish microbes 

 nor furnish a satisfactory lodging place for vermin. 



One difficulty is that these fibers are not very adhesive and at the same time short and 

 brittle, which prevents them from being spun by machinery used in spinning and wea\'ing the 

 ordinarj' cotton fiber. It has been spun, but it requires considerable skill and patience. In 

 consequence of this the bulk of the material lacks commercial importance except as employed 

 for stuffing mattresses, pillows, cushions and sofas. For these purposes enormous quantities 

 are used annually in the United States. It is exported in large quantities from the East Indies 

 and West Africa; the variety from Java is regarded as a fiber of great merit, and is used for 

 stuffing pillows and sofas. Its lightness, softness, and elasticity render it superior to the 

 best qualities of feathers, wool, or hair. This material has been employed also as a buoyant 

 material for packing life-belts and for making hats and bormets, and has even been suggested 

 for the manufacture of paper and gun cotton. Unfortunately the silk cotton from the West 

 Indies is accounted of less value at present, but it only remains for some one to start its collec- 

 tion in Cuba and Jamaica and ship it to American markets. It has been estimated that the 

 average yield of silk cotton from a single tree in Cuba is approximately 100 pounds. Many 

 thousands of bales of silk cotton might be collected annually in Cuba and turned to economic 

 use. In 1914 a little over 20,000,000 pounds of silk-cotton were exported from Java and 

 Sumatra, and of this quantity about 3,000,000 pounds were consumed in the United States for a 

 great variety of purposes. 



The kapok industry in Africa is likely to be developed to a considerable extent. Over 

 300,000 ceiba trees have been planted in German East Africa, of which more than half are in 

 full bearing. Planting has also been carried on in Togoland (West Africa) and it is believed 

 that the export trade from this region will be profitable at the high price now obtainable for 

 the floss. Trees thirty years old were found to j-ield on an average about ninety pounds of 

 unginned kapok per tree, while six year old trees give about 21 pounds per tree. Extensive 

 planting has been done in the Gold Coast (West Africa) and several profitable crops have 

 already been harvested and exported. The fiber in this region is said to be of good quality 

 and varies from .8 to 1.1 inch in length. It brings six cents per pound. The planting of the 

 kapok tree in the West Indies cannot be too highlj- recommended. For regions in which it is 

 impossible to raise more profitable crops two Brazihan trees closely allied to the ceiba should 

 be tested. One of these is the barriguda (Chorisia crispiflora) which has long and rather 

 strong fiber. The other is the imbirassu (Bombax tomentosa) which yields a much finer cotton 

 and does not mat or tend to harden with any kind of use. 



The cotton is gathered with the seed and shipped in that condition. It must then, be 

 ginned just like ordinary cotton, and the seeds which have the appearance of cotton seed are 

 used for the oil they contain. The oil expressed from the Java seed in HoUand, approaches 

 verj^ closely in its properties to cotton seed oil; the better grades serve for converting into but- 

 ter substitutes and the poorer grades for soap-making. Xot only are the seeds used, but the 

 inner bark of the tree also affords a fiber somewhat resembling the Cuban bast. It is strong 

 and used locally for binding material. It bleaches readily and makes a strong white opaque 

 paper. The root bark is emetic and has a therapeutic value. The leaves poimded and mixed 

 with a little water yield a mucilagenous juice used by the inhabitants of some parts of the 

 tropics as a wash for their hair. C H. PEARSOX. 



CAR OF MAHOGANY ^.^^ reached Grand Rapids. It came through 



The first carload of mahogany ever loaded in nineteen days. The lumber was shipped 



in a foreign land and which came through to Grand Rapids by the Felger-Robbins 



without reloading from ship, has arrived in Mahogany Lumber Company of Havana, 



Grand Rapids, and was delivered in the where the company has its own mills, and is 



yards of the Felger Lumber Company. The doing the bulk of the mahogany business in 



car contained 10,500 feet of mahoganj' and Cuba today, which it has done since the early 



was loaded in the city of Havana, Cuba, days of the European war. — Jackson {Mwk.) 



sealed, and the seal was not broken until the Patriot. 



