30 
cleaned,’ weighing abow aie the second and third from 75 lbs. to 
90 Ibs. Bales over 90 Is. o 95 lbs., on account of having to be 
dumped by machinery, destroying the elasticity of the fibre, are 
reckoned not to be worth seri $d. to ld. per lb. in value of bales of 
lesser weight. 
“Tn fact, it is a peculiar feature of the Java trade that weight of 
bales ease} an esse ential condition of price—the lighter the highest, and 
vice vers 
The k lowing paragraph appeared in the British North Borneo 
Herald for August 1, 1896 :— 
“ Kapok, the down which envelops the seeds of the silk-cotton tree, 
is, says the Produce World, ees ae eee The cultivation 
of the trees is even said to ifee the province of 
Burmah ; they grow to a height = 80. r i "100 feet, the wood is soft 
an worthless ; the fibre, kapok, is extensively used for stuffing 
mattresses, pillows, cushions, seats of railway carriages, &c. The lack 
of proper machine t y of i 
development, but that obstacle has bee moved, and the stuff as it 
comes to market is in excellent Sonik: for the purposes we have 
Kapok has not been received in this country on a very large scale. 
It is not, however, quite unknown here. The following particulars 
have been received from a well-known firm in the City :— 
Messrs. IDE AND CHRISTIE to ROYAL GARDENS, KEW. 
72, Mark mene London, E.C., 
SIR, Septe tember 28, 1896. 
IN ee Pg = your letter of the 24th instant, Kapok is coming 
here regularly to the extent of 100 bales a mon nth from India and 
Ceylon. To- toy s value is 25d. to 4d. per lb. The trade is not large, 
but may grow 
urs, &c. 
eri is, C.M.G., (Signed) ee AND CHRISTIE. 
hasian Director, Royal Gardens, 
Kew. 
XII._FIBRE FROM LAGOS. 
(Honekenya ficifolia, Willd.) 
[K. B., 1889, pp. 15-16.] 
Botanical specimens as well as a specimen of fibre were recently re- 
ceived at Kew Beste the Colonial Office from the Governor of Lagos. 
These specimens have proved interesting as bringing under notice, 
apparently fe’ the first time, a valuable fibre plant on the West Coast of 
Africa. The plant has been determined as Honckenya ficifolia, Willd. 
Clappertonia ficifolia, Decaisn ne), -i member of the natural order 
iliacee. tis fully described in Oliver, Flora of Tropical Africa, 
Vol. i. p. 260. Below will be found the official correspondence bearing 
a * ES EREA GE 
Li ee Ee ETE AE E A E AA I eee yee T AE E E IAO SS ely 
