370 OTHER HIMALAYAN NETTLES. 
of clay or mud, that the colour would be improved, the sub- 
stance rendered easy to dress, and not liable to so much waste 
in manufacturing.” Sergeant Crutcher thought that the fibre 
might be supplied for four rupees a maund, when large quan- 
tities were prepared. Capt. Thompson thought that it would 
be worth twelve rupees a maund in Calcutta. 
Oruer Himatayan NETTLES. 
Major Swetenham, when writing respecting the MalooCreeper 
(v.p. 296), mentions the large Nettle of Gurhwali—which he says 
is considered by the natives as superior to Bhang, or the true 
Hemp—thus: “There is another plant that grows in the interior 
of the Hills from which stronger ropes even than the Hemp 
are said to be made—I allude to the large Nettle plant. I 
have seen this growing to the height of fourteen or fifteen feet ; 
the Hill people in preparing ropes from this plant, steep it for 
three days only, and then strip off the fibre; this is done in a 
coutrary method to the Hemp stripping, i.e., the top of the 
Nettle is broken off, and the fibre pulled down from the 
thin end.” 
Capt. Huddleston, in his paper on the Hemp of the Hima- 
layas, mentions also other fibres. Among these—“ The larger 
Nettle called Jurkundaloo, Kundaloo, and Kubra, grows chiefly 
in the northern parts of the district, in great quantities; it also 
grows in the middle ones; and from its fibres the natives 
make rope for tying up their cattle and snow-sandals. One 
bundle will produce about a seer of fibre, but it is not collected 
for sale. The plant grows about eight or nine feet high, and 
the stalks are about the size of a finger in thickness. It is cut 
in the cold season, and the stalks are soaked a few days in 
water before the fibre is stripped off from the thick end like 
Hemp.” (‘ Trans. Agri-Hortic. Soc.,’ viii, p. 275.) 
Dr, Campbell also mentions the gigantic stinging Nettle of 
the Nipal and Sikkim Hills, as made into Hemp and used in 
making the cloth called “ Bangra.” The preparation is the 
same as the “Pooah.” The Bangra is harder and stiffer 
than the ‘ Pooah,” and not adapted to making cordage 
and nets, 
