284 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



and flowers ; it is called "Hasheesh." The seeds of Hemp 

 contain thirty-four per cent, of oil, most of which may be 

 extracted by pressure. It is a drying oil, greenish at first, 

 then becoming yellow, and used in mixing paints, making 

 soap, etc. 



263. The bast-fibre of several species of Crotalaria (fam- 

 ily LeguminoscB), especially C. juncea, a native plant of 

 India and adjoining islands, is the so-called Sunn, or 

 Bombay Hemp. It is found in cultivation in Southern 

 Asia, Borneo, Java, etc. The plant is an annual, growing 

 eight to twelve feet high, has silvery hairy leaves and 

 bright yellow flowers. The fibre is removed by beating and 

 ■washing, after the plants have steeped in water a few days. 

 The fibres when air-dry contain 5.3 per cent, of water ; in an 

 atmosphere saturated with moisture they contain 10.9 per 

 cent, of water. The color is pale, the lustre less than that 

 of Jute. The bast-cells composing the fibre have a length 

 of .0197-.2716 inches, and a width of .00079-00165. The 

 ends are very obtuse. The thickness of the wall is one- 

 ninth to one-third the diameter of the cell. This Hemp 

 finds a use similar to ordinary Hemp. 



264. China Grass, Boehmeria nivea, and B. tenadssima, 

 perennial herbs, belonging to the Nettle family {Urti- 

 caeece), have been cultivated in India since very early 

 times, for their excellent fibre called Ramie. It cannot 

 be readily separated from the epidermis and surrounding 

 tissue. The bast-cells have a very large diameter. They 

 are dirty green, whitish, yellowish, or light-brown, and are 

 very tough and strong. Their length is very great, amount- 

 ing sometimes to nine inches. The maximum diameter is 

 .00158-00315 inches; mostly .00197 inches. The Ramie 

 or China Grass fibres contain when air-dry 6.5 per cent, of 



