known as the "Globe Mallow," a native of Mexico, both yield' 

 silky fibres useful for cordage — that of the latter averaging front 

 4 to 5 feet in length. Lagunaria (Fugosia) Patersonii, the- 

 "Whitewood," or "Cow-itch tree" of Norfolk Island, is a vigorous 

 grower in this climate, and a specimen of its bast sent to the 

 Philadelphia Exhibition was placed in the third division of 

 Professor Dodge's Economic Classification, under the heading of 

 " Fibres capable of employment in the arts, &c." 



Closely allied to the Mallow tribe is 



THE "BOTTLE TREE" FAMILY, OEDER STERCU- 

 LIACE^, 



several representatives of which are trees of large size, notably 

 the Sterculias themselves, one of which, Sterculia diversi- 

 folia, is known in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queens- 

 land as the " Currijong," and by the settlers of Gippsland also 

 as " Bottle tree," because of its thick swollen trunk ; Sterculia 

 acerifolia, the " Flame tree " of New South Wales ; S. lurida, 

 Commersonia Fraseri — ^known in parts of Victoria as " Black- 

 fellow's Hemp •" Dombeya Natalensis, or " Cape Wedding- 

 flower," and other members of the family all yield from their 

 stems and branches strong fibre not easily affected by wet, and 

 therefore suitable for ropes, matting, baskets, &c., whilst the 

 refuse or tow, after heckling, supplies no mean substitute for 

 horsehair, its elastic nature rendering it invaluable for upholstering 

 purposes. 



THE "LINDEN TREE" FAMILY, ORDER TILIACE^. 



supplies us with that valuable fibre, the Indian jute, which in 

 Bengal has been cultivated and woven into various fabrics from 

 a remote period, and yet, little more than half a century ago, 

 was considered a weed and unfit for textile purposes, the green- 

 tops only being used as a pot herb or vegetable by the Jews in 

 the East, and known as "Jew's Mallow." 



Indian jute is obtained from two distinct species of the plant 

 (Corchorus capsularis and C. olitorius), principally the former. 

 Several other species, however, are supposed to possess filaments 

 of great tenacity. According to Baron von Mueller's Census 

 of Australian Plants, there are no less than seventeen species of 

 Corchorus found growing wild in the north of this continent, and 

 Corchorus olitorius, one of the Indian kinds, is included in the 

 number. Again, the Baron states in bis work Select Plants for 

 Industrial Culture, that the first-named (C. capsularis) is also- 

 indigenous to North-West Australia. 



