192 'FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 



"Secondly: Sida shows superiority in point of 

 uniformity, fineness and divisibility of the fibre 

 bundles, and further in softness and in the colour 

 of the raw fibre, and also in capacity for bleaching : 

 the dyeing capacity of the fibres is about equal. 

 It is interesting to note that the distinctions in favour 

 of Sida are closely correlated with the above results 

 of analysis. 



" The net result of the comparison is, that while 

 belonging with jfute to the lower grade of textile 

 fibres, Sida is much to be preferred, and should 

 certainly displace Jute, more especially in the higher 

 uses to which this fibre is put. 



" The jfute class of fibres includes this, as well as the 

 Hibiscus order. More care is requisite in preparing 

 these as all other textiles, and probably also the 

 growth in the wild state may be found to produce a 

 low quality of fibre ; at least we may safely assert 

 that cultivation would raise the quality. The pro- 

 cesses of extraction are simple, requiring only manual 

 labour. A preliminary steep of two to three days' 

 duration will be necessary. Information on these 

 points will be found in any of the standard works on 

 fibres. We should recommend Spon's 'Encyclo- 

 paedia,' Article 'Fibrous Plants,' as especially good. 



"Prices in this group vary from £12 to ;^22 for 

 textile fibres. To command a good price they must 

 be clean — free from bark and cellular tissue — of good 

 colour and length (three to eight feet). 



