282 MADRAS METHODS OF PREPARATION. 
which kind are many of the cordage plants—“is very similar 
to that followed in cleaning fleshy and pulpy plants, viz., by 
burying in sand or mud at the edge of a tank or in a river, 
and leaving them to rot. There is this difference, however, 
that the plants are steeped longer, and are never exposed to 
the sun to dry, or stacked and covered with matting to be 
cleaned by dry beating. If this were done, the woody fibre 
would get hard and brittle, and would again adhere to the 
other fibre, which being partially rotten would break in the 
cleaning. To obviate this the rotted plant is taken up in 
large handfuls, and beaten on flat stones, first at one end and 
then at the other, in the same way as clothes are washed by 
the Dhobee; they are next well rubbed and washed to sepa- 
rate the impurities, and are spread out on the ground to dry.’ 
We can hardly wonder that most of the string and rope made 
from fibres prepared in this rude, coarse way, should be dark 
in colour, possessed of no strength, and of little value. Asa 
general rule, every day’s steeping of a fibre takes from its 
strength and imparts more or less colour. To obviate this, 
woody plants should be first well beaten with a mallet; then 
the bark should be separated from the stalk, for it is on the 
inner part of the bark that the fibres for cordage usually 
occur. When the bark is brought to a pulpy state, it must be 
well washed in clean water to remove as much of the sap as 
possible; for this is the distinctive agent which soon causes 
putrefaction.” 
CULTURE IN THE WEST OF INDIA. 
On the Bombay side Sunn is also extensively cultivated, 
and attracted some attention at the beginning of this century in 
the islaud of Salsette, whence it was called Salsette Hemp, which 
is probably the same substance now called Brown Hemp. On 
that side of India, Dr. Roxburgh says, as in some other parts 
of India, the seed is sown towards the close of the rains, when 
a stronger soil is said to be required. We have seen that Col. 
Sykes enumerates the Sunn among the spring crops; that is, 
among those sown in autumn and reaped in spring. This 
Bombay Hemp or Sunn has always been highly esteemed. 
Dr. Roxburgh says it is reckoned particularly good—not 
