132 OBJECTIONS TO INDIAN FIBRES. 
in most. cases, merely a question of preparation, which might 
be carried to a greater extent in India, or in this country, 
before attempting to spin them. I gave several of these fibres 
to Mr. Dickson, of Deptford, and he returned them to me in a 
few days, in a state in which I was scarcely able to recognise 
them, from their soft and silky, hair-like appearance; and I 
have little doubt but that the progress of experiment will show 
that this change can be effected at a comparatively small cost. 
With respect to their breaking at knots, this appears to be the 
case only with the white fibres, of which we have just treated, 
and which in this respect are like New Zealand Flax and 
Manilla Hemp. Some of the same objections were made 
against the Jute, when first introduced; and many years 
elapsed before it came to be used as it now is, and considered 
indispensable to the manufacturers of some localities. For 
instance, about 15,000 tons are annually employed in Dundee 
alone. Jute is certainly characterised by fineness, silkiness, 
and facility of spinning ; but it is less strong than many other 
Indian fibres, which are possessed of similar properties with 
greater strength, as we hope to be able to show among the 
Mallow and other nearly allied tribes of plants. Among the 
Nettles, we hope to be able to prove that the combination of 
strength with fineness and capability of being spun, is as great 
in the Rheea fibre from Assam as in the China grass from 
China. When, at the end of last year, I was endeavouring to 
prove that many of these fibres were fit for all the purposes of 
rope-making, I was equally told that they were weak, or would 
not twist, or not take tar. I have since had some of them 
made into every variety of cordage, from fine whipcord to a 
five-inch rope, and I find that, in all cases, many of those of 
which I am now about to treat, exceed Russian Hemp in 
strength, and are therefore more than efficient substitutes. 
Though some practical men have stated that these Indian 
fibres do not subdivide, and will not spin, others are of a con- 
trary opinion ; and though I shall have occasion to refer to 
each more particularly under its respective head, I may yet 
take the present opportunity of referring to the statements of 
Mr. Dickson, published in the ‘ Journal of the Society of Arts.’ 
In the then expected deficiency of Russian Hemp and Flax, 
and looking to the sources whence consumers might obtain 
