THE TECHNOLOGIST. [March 1, 1864. 



382 ON INDIAN FIBRES. 



surface is rendered smooth, by friction with a pebble on boards. Its 

 structure is very tough, and cannot be torn rectilinearly, and it is most 

 serviceable for filtration, as the fibres do not separate readily when 

 saturated with moisture, and will resist, in a moist condition, con- 

 siderable rough handling. Paper is aiso made from the bamboo in 

 Lahore, Pegu, Assam, Siain, China, &c. 



The fibres of the nettle family make admirable paper, but are too 

 costly to come into general use. If the tow could be obtained in 

 quantity from manufactories, it would add great strength to ordinary 

 papers. Among the samples shown are Puya bark fibre (Boehmeria 

 Puya) as a paper-stuff, Rhea fibre and tow {Boehmeria nivea), paper from 

 the wild Rhea fibre and Bank-note paper made at Laverstoke Mills of 

 Rhea fibre. 



Paper from the bark of the Pulas, a leguminous shrub {Buteafron-. 

 dosa) — made at Aurungebad. The fibre is unimportant as an article of 

 commerce, but it furnishes the natives with cordage, and is beaten into 

 a kind of oakum. It is possessed of a good deal of strength. It is one 

 of the most generally diffused plants, forming jungle. The fibrous part 

 of many lily and aloe leaved plants have also been converted into excel- 

 lent paper in India. 



Dr. Riddell, from his experiments, strongly recommends the okro 

 plant (Abelmoschus esculentus) as furnishing an excellent fibre for the 

 manufacture of paper. Other fibres from the same natural family 

 (Malvaceace) are likewise worthy of attention. They include the Indian 

 mallow (Abutilon Indicujn), jungle mallow {Hibiscus sp.), and the Urena 

 lobata. The latter is the pest of Rangoon and its neighbourhood, and 

 other parts of Burmah, springing up spontaneously wherever the jungle 

 is cleared, and rapidly forming a dense mass of luxuriant vegetation. 

 Any quantities of the plant may be had for the mere trouble of gather- 

 ing it. The pulp and paper made of it seem of an excellent quality. 

 The country paper of the North Western provinces is made from sunn 

 (Crotalaria junicea). Paper is made of a species of Hibiscus in Japan 

 and H. sabdariffa in India. 



When, in 1853, the scarcity of rags in the European markets began 

 to be felt, a friend and correspondent in Ceylon, Mr. W. C. Ondaatje, 

 commenced experiments on various indigenous products, of which he 

 forwarded me specimens. One of the most promising fibres he considered 

 to be the Gnidia eriocephala, a plant of the same, or of an allied, 

 genus to the Daphne cannabina, of which the Nepal paper is made. A 

 small factory was set up, five miles from Badulla in the Central Pro- 

 vince, where the material was found in abundance, and paper was made 

 by hand labour. After spending about 200Z., Mr. Ondaatje was obliged 

 to abandon the manufacture, owing to the want of suitable machinery 

 for reducing the raw material into pulp. With proper machinery the 

 cost would be greatly reduced ; and he considers that the manufacture of 

 paper with this new material would yield a good return. The pulp is 



