ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION. 29 



of the cordage fibers are: Commercial — for threads, flax (bast fiber); 

 for twines, common hemp (bast fiber), and for ropes, manila and sisal 

 hemps (structural fiber) ; native — for fine twines, fish lines, etc., Indian 

 hemp (or Apocynum) (bast fiber); for ropes, the Yuccas (structural 

 fiber); for binding and rough sewing material, spruce roots (woody 

 fiber) ; and for fish lines, kelp or seaweed, used in Alaska and other 

 high northern latitudes (pseudo-fiber). 



The third use is the preparation of certain tree basts that are 

 extracted from the bark in layers or sheets, and which, by pounding, 

 are made into rough substitutes for cloth. Such cloth has long 

 been used by the natives of the Pacific islands, and is known as lappa 

 or Kapa. Other forms, such as the Damajar/ua, of Ecuador, are used 

 in South America as cloth, while similar fibrous bast is employed in 

 India in its primary form, for sacks, etc. In this group are also included 

 the more delicate tree basts that are extracted in thin lacelike layers 

 and known as lace barks, as well as other forms of which the cigarette 

 bast, or Cuban bast, is an example. Certain close-textured fibrous 

 growths from palm trees, when they may be secured in thin sheets, 

 likewise come into this category. 



A fourth use is in the manufacture of brushes and brooms, for 

 which a different class of fibers are employed than either the fabric or 

 cordage fibers. The first essentials of a brush fiber are toughness and 

 stiffness, qualities found in many of the fibers from Endogens, and the 

 brush fibers, therefore, especially the commercial species, are largely 

 derived from palms. Grasses and grass roots are also used, while the 

 best substitute for animal bristles is a species of Agave, the fibro-vas- 

 cular bundles of which are large, smooth, rigid, and cylindrical. The 

 most important commercial brush fibers derived from palms are noted 

 as Piassaba, or Bass, of Which there are several forms from as many 

 different species. An American example of palm brush fiber is found 

 in the finished product from crushed and softened palmetto leaf stems. 

 Coarser brush material consists of twigs or small stems of woody plants, 

 or even of splints of wood, while the aboriginies and " natives" use 

 anything that has the requisite stiffness, from a bunch of grass to the 

 small branches of bushes tied together. Examples of commercial 

 brush fibers are Tampico, from Agave heteracantha, Piassaba, or Bass, 

 from Attalea funifera, a palm, and Broom root, from the roots of Epi- 

 cawpes macroura, a Mexican grass. 



The fifth group of uses comprises plaited or coarsely woven 

 manufactures of articles employed in the domestic economy, some 

 of which are of commercial importance, while the greater number are 

 "native" productions. The materials used are the whole stems of 

 reeds, rushes, or grasses, palm leaves, coarse tree basts, etc., wrought 

 or plaited together in the simplest manner possible. Some of these 

 articles may be enumerated as follows: Mats and mattings, screens, 

 wallets, bags, saddle cloths, sandals, hats, toys, chair seats, and bas- 

 ketry in endless form. Examples of the commercial manufactures are 



