34 THE PI ASS ABA FIBRE OF COMMERCE, 



The Piassaba of Para, the finer of the two sorts, is produced by the 

 Leopoldinia Piassaba, Wallace. It is termed by the Brazilians Piacaba, 

 and by the Venezuelans Chiquichiqui, having a very extensive distribution 

 on the eastern side of South America, where it grows on partially-flooded 

 lands. Wallace, speaking of the distribution of this palm in those parts 

 with which he is more intimately acquainted, says — " It grows in swampy 

 or partially-flooded lands, on the banks of black-water rivers. It is first 

 found on the river Padaviri, a tributary of the Bio Negro, on its northern 

 side, about four hundred miles above Barra, but the waters of which are 

 not so black as those of the Bio Negro. The piassaba is ftrand from near 

 the mouth to more than one hundred miles up, where it ceases : on the 

 banks of the Bio Negro itself not a tree is to be seen. The next river, 

 the Daraha, also contains some. The next two, the Marahiva and Cababuri, 

 are white-water rivers, and have no piassaba. On the soiith bank, though 

 all the rivers have black water, there is no piassaba till we reach the 

 Marie, not far below St Gabriel. Here it is extensively cut for about 

 one hundred miles up ; but there is still none immediately at the mouth, 

 or on the banks of the Bio Negro. The next rivers, the Curicuriau, the 

 great river Uapes, and the Isanna, though of black waters, have none ; 

 while further on, in the Xie, it again appears. On entering Venezuela, 

 it is found on the banks of the Bio Negro, and is abundant all up to its 

 sources ; and in the Tomo and Atabapo, black-water tributaries of the 

 Orinoco. This seems to be its northern limit, and I cannot hear of its 

 again appearing in any part of the Amazon or Orinoco, or its tributaries. 

 It is thus entirely restricted to a district about three hundred miles 

 from north to south, and an equal distance from east to west. I am 

 enabled so exactly to mark out its range from having resided more than 

 two years among people whose principal occupation consisted in obtaining 

 the fibres of this tree." (Wallace's 'Palm Trees,' p. 19.) 



The trunk of this palm reaches twenty to thirty feet in height. The 

 leaves are very large, and their leaflets rigid, but slightly drooping at the 

 tips : they form an excellent thatch. The dilated base of the petioles 

 separates, like that of Arenga saccharifera, into a long, coarse fringe, which 

 is collected by the natives, and partly used for home consumption, partly 

 exported to Europe, tied up in bundles of several feet in length, and sold 

 in London under the name of piassaba (piaqaba). 



Piassaba is now made up in bales, and pressed to reduce its bulk, 

 making it more suitable for shipment as cargo, whereas hitherto it had 

 been confined to serve as stowage for other produce. The expense of pack- 

 ing and pressing is about 10s. the ton. In Bahia, piassaba is sold at so 

 many milreis (of about 2s. 3d.) the 100 bundles or double-bundles; in Par^, 

 by the arroba of 32 lb. r 



This fibre is an extensive article of commerce in the country where it 

 grows, and it seems to have been used from a very early period to form 

 cables for the canoes navigating the Amazon. It is weU adapted for this 

 purpose, as it is light — the cables made of it not sinking in water — and very 



