SNe yee 
Se ae A og Ieee re arse ae 
- E 7 inays 
249 
No. II. An excellent series of Bahia Piassava is shown in Case 
No. 62. One of the earliest notices of ‘Bahia Piassava, and probably 
the first where the plant yielding it is authoritatively determined, is 
contained in an article in Hooker’s Journal of Botany and Kew 
Garden Miscellany, vol. i. (1849), pp. 121-123. In this notice Sir 
m. ooker states :— 
* 
e “and clean by the stiff fibres of a new material for making brushes 
‘and brooms, those of the machines, as well as those employed by 
= Sree and if anyone is asked what be the origin of this fibre, the 
= frequent reply is ‘Whalebone, I suppose. ut, no; it is not of 
“animal but vegetable origin, the coarse fibre of a species of palm 
“ (Attalea funifera) which grows abundantly in Brazil. This curious 
“material, according to its “stoutne ss and tenacity, is employed for 
“ cordage and mats as well as for brooms and brushes. The dilated 
* base of the leaf-stalks spine into a long coarse fringe, which is 
“ collected by the natives and used in the country or exported to Europe 
“ for the purposes above mentioned, and now constitutes a considerable 
“ article of comme 
he fruit or nuts of this palm are sore article of commerce, 
= Fite brought into England under the name of Coquilla nuts, and 
“ extensively used for various kinds of meea pee especially in 
“ making handles of bell-pulls, umbrellas, &c., &c. ; for the shell (or 
“ putamen) is of great thickness, excessively hard, beautifully mottled: 
= mo rS nd light brown, and capable of taking a high degree of 
é 
se oe are aware, no detailed account of Bahia Piassava has 
hitherto eet published in oo accessible form. Weare therefore happy to 
avail ourselves of the courtesy of Mr. W. S. Booth, Belle Vue House, 
Gloucester, who has eens ed from personal observation the following 
excellent account of the present condition of the industry in Brazil for 
the Kew Bulletin :— 
BAHIA PIASSA 
“The fibre of the palm (Attalea Funiferd a) is obtained chiefly in the 
province of Bahia, along the coast south of Valença, where the sapply 
is now exhausted, to Porto Seguro, which will soon be in the 
condit tio 
the woodland Pines do Reena vat 
patches, called campos, nestling in the heart of imme 
“ Natural lly, the Paasi do Campo’ is more sen centred than 
the ‘Piassava do Mato’; for while the former grows in spots where it 
Moreover, a certain ‘ pratique’ is requir 
at first sight in the dense tangle of a tropical ju ie. 5 
“ Piassava of either denomination is divided according to its age, 
* to ira d Co ueira. 
into two kinds, viz., Bananeira an whore tran a | ae not yet developed, 
oqu 
of fibre, according to its age, viz 
(1.) Ordinar Boe s which is doit round <I up among the broken 
‘ leaves, and the upper part of the tr 
