FORESTRY OF IVEST AFRICA. iSs 



D. Calotropis gigantea. (The Order is said to widely 

 inhabit the Tropics.) 



a. " A very strong opinion was pronounced in 

 favour of its substitution for many of the finer 

 purposes to which Jiite has been applied in recent 

 years. The samples shown were only three or four 

 feet long, while jute may often be found as much as 

 fifteen feet. It was thought that if under cultivation 

 Sida could be made to approximate nearer to jute in 

 this respect, a very great future would open for it 

 immediatel}'. The fibre could be produced on the 

 same field and by the same cultivators as jute, and 

 for the same, or nearly the same, price." 



b. " Were pronounced superior to sunn-hemp {C/'o- 

 talaria jimcea" — a large genus spread throughout 

 the Tropical Regions of both hemispheres, with its 

 head-quarters in Tropical Africa. — Oliver's ' Tropical 

 Africa.') 



c. " When bleached it is found to be a bright silky 

 and woolly character, highly adaptable for admixture 

 with wool. The length of the fibre would seem to 

 render it valuable and economical for many purposes 

 for which cotton is at present employed. In point 

 of chemical features, it stands amongst vegetable 

 fibres almost by itself, since, unlike cotton, it may be 

 bleached and dyed by the same processes as are 

 applied to wool. It is therefore eminently suitable 

 for admixture with wool, but it loses in weight very 

 considerably if treated with alkalis like cotton." 



