FIBER PLANTS 



FIBER PLANTS 



285 



established in the United States, and few ramie 

 goods, sold as ramie, are made in this country. It 

 is used extensively for dress goods in China, Japan 

 and Korea, and in Europe its use is increasing 

 for portieres, upholstered furniture, clothing and 

 various other kinds of woven and knit goods, but 

 thus far, excepting the knit ramie underwear made 



in Europe, ramie 

 goods are little 

 known in the 

 United States. 



BheaiBoehmeria 

 tenadssima), also 

 called ramie, is 

 cultivated to a 

 small extent in 

 India and the 

 East India islands. 

 It differs from 

 B. nivea in hav- 

 ing leaves green 

 on both surfaces, 

 and in requiring 

 a more tropical 

 climate. 



(Fig. 



Fig. 39S. Aramina {Vreaa lobata). 



Aramina. 

 395.) 



Aramina,aword 

 meaning " little 

 wire," is a trade name recently applied in Brazil 

 to the fiber secured from the inner bark of the 

 carrapicho plant, Urena lobata, Linn. (Fig. 395.) 

 This plant is a shrubby perennial, belonging to the 

 MalvaeeoR or Mallow family. It is native in India, 

 but is now widely distributed in the warmer parts 

 of both hemispheres. It is an aggressive weed in 

 Florida, and is there called "Caesar weed." Its fiber, 

 obtained in small quantities from wild plants, is 

 used in a domestic way in many places, as for 

 paper and cordage in St. Thome, for cheap cordage 

 in Porto Rico, for sacking and twine in India, 

 tie material for house-building in West Africa, and 

 fishing-nets in Brazil. Only in the Sao Paulo in 

 southern Brazil is the plant regularly cultivated 

 for fiber production on a commercial scale. It is 

 there called "guaxima." The fiber is prepared 

 by stripping it by machinery in the field, dry- 

 ing, and shipping to the factory where it is treated 

 chemically and mechanically to prepare it for 

 spinning. It is asserted that it will yield about 

 900 pounds of fiber per acre. 



The fiber is four to eight feet long, light yellow 

 or creamy white, somewhat ribbon-like, but capa- 

 ble of fine subdivision. It resembles India jute in 

 color, texture, length and strength, but lasts better. 

 It is used most extensively in making sacks for 

 shipping coflfee, but it has been demonstrated 

 that when suitably prepared it may be used in the 

 manufacture of ropes, canvas, carpets, trimmings 

 and curtains. 



Sunn hemp. (Fig. 396.) 



Sunn hemp is a bast fiber obtained from Groto- 

 laria juncea, an annual plant of the Leguminosos or 



Bean family. (Fig. 396.) It is raised most exten- 

 sively in central India. Like hemp and flax, it is 

 not known in the wild state except where it has 

 escaped from cultivation. It requires a light sandy 

 soil and only a moderate rainfall, — fifteen to thirty 

 inches. It will endure more cold than jute. The 

 seed is sown broadcast at the rate of fifty to one 

 hundred pounds per acre, usually in the spring, 

 although in some localties it is grown as a winter 

 crop. The plants are harvested by cutting with a 

 sickle, or more frequently are pulled by hand, at 

 flowering time or soon after. After the stalks have 

 wilted so that the leaves fall readily, they are 

 placed in bundles in stagnant pools or slow-running 

 streams for retting, a process requiring four to 

 eight days. When sufficiently retted, workmen enter 

 the water, and, picking up the stalks a handful at 

 a time, beat them on the surface of the water until 

 the fiber separates. The fiber is further cleaned by 

 washing it and wringing it by hand. It is then 

 hung on bamboo poles to dry in the sun. The aver- 

 age yield of fiber is about 640 pounds per acre. 



Sunn hemp is lighter colored, coarser and 

 stronger than jute, and lasts better. It is stiffer 

 than jute or hemp, and cannot be spun so readily. 



Fig. 396. Sunn hemp {Orotolariajuncea). 



It is used in India for cordage, sacking, and gen- 

 erally as a substitute for jute. The small quanti- 

 ties imported into the United States are used for 

 the manufacture of coarse twines. 



The sunn hemp plant grows well in southern 

 Florida, and as a leguminous crop, improving the 



