254 
London Exhibition of A (section 1, pp. 137, 168), as used in 
N.W. India for making ropes. 
Mr. Duthie’s dinone, though extremely imperfect, were submitted 
to the late General Munro, C.B., F.R.S., in the pp that his incom- 
parable knowledge of grasses might e abie him to ascertain what it 
„He Suc coeeded i = eue it with spodiopogmn pe 
uera 36). 
s Nosi aS Steudel. Tt is ag oe name ‘only as ' Spodiopagila 
“ laniger in Royle’ S iaon Ja 416). It is very common in all 
“ parts of the Lower Himalayas, and I pan seen it from Afghanistan, 
“ collected by Griffith.” 
r. Duthie subsequently informed us that it was also known un nder 
the name of Bhaib grass, and that it was used for the manufacture of 
string matting and a variety of other articles, of which a fine collection 
was sent by him to the Kew Museum in 1880 (see Kew Report, 
1880, p. 60). 
We were indebted to Sir Dietrich ere K.C.LE., late merge 
General of Forests to the Government of India, for pointing out that 
the grasses variously known as Bhah, har, Bhaib, and Bankas were all 
identical. The following note upon the subject is contained in a 
paper entitled “Suggestion regarding Forest Aduanan in the 
ENW. a Meg and Ondh ” Sprains 1882, pp. 7, 
“The export of the grass kno as Bhabar, “Bhaily Bankas 
* (Andropogon clean not as as eae been erroneously stated, 
Eriophorum comosum), from the Siwalik Hills, and from x racks 0 
“ broken raviny ground outside the hills, is VOX considera 
e dantl 
grass grows abun on dry bare and no pet a 
“ regarding the sufficiency of the supply need ar ai be entertained 
“ It is used chiefly for rope-making, and it is no s impossible 
“ that the establishment of paper-mills in North India will eventual 
“lead to the employment of this grass for the manufacture of paper.” 
Early in ES the India Office furnished us with a copy of a report 
by Mr. C. E. Edwards, the manager of the Lucknow Paper Mills, to 
the Director of ox Department of Agriculture and Commerce of the 
North-West Provinces and Oudh, which contained. H the soleene obser- 
vations with respect to the use of Bhaib for paper 
his grass we have used here, but not to any aon pected: owing 
= io the price being too high, besides the out-turn is not so great as 
“ with jute. I found it not to yield more han about 35 per cent. of 
“ paper, ís is to a great extent owing to the top part of the 
“ plant being somewhat perished, I presume ak to the tops being 
“more exposed to the atmosphere, as this part appears to get ripe 
è much earlier chan the bottom. In the process of boiling the perished 
p 
“ “ sufficiently reduced to a pulp. This accounts for the a loss in the 
manufacture, but this could be obviated by having the top parts cut 
4) = of before despatching it to the paper mills, and if it could be had at 
“ would be a good and cheap enough fibre for paper-making purposes.” 
Dr. King, in his annual report for 1882- 3 summed up its prospects 
as follows :— 
_ “In several former reports I have referred to the leaves known by 
e the vernacular name bhabur as the produce of Eriophorum comosum. 
l have now satisfied myself that the bulk of the bhabur used by 
“ natives for rope-making is not deriyed from Eriophorum, as I haye 
