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PREFACE. 



A little over twenty years ago at the Philadelphia International 

 Exhibition of 1876, while the writer was acting for the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, but under the direction of the late Prof. 

 Spencer F. Baird, the foundation of this work was laid. The exhibi- 

 tion of 1876 brought to this country many superb collections illustrating 

 the arts and industries of the world, none of these being more interest- 

 ing or complete than the collections of textiles and textile manufacture. 

 Prominent among the collections of raw fibers were those contributed 

 by the Australian colonies, including the magnificent series of New 

 Zealand flax and flax products. These, with many other collections, 

 in different fields, were presented to the United States Government at 

 the close of the exhibition, the agricultural products coming to the 

 Department of Agriculture, while the animal and mineral collections 

 went to the National Museum. 



Next to the Australian collections of fibers, those from the several 

 South American Republics which were represented in the exhibition 

 were particularly instructive, and it was mainly through the interest 

 developed by the superb collections of these two regions of the globe 

 that the descriptive list of fibers which appeared in the annual report 

 of this Department for 1879 was prepared by the writer. The Austra- 

 lian exhibit was particularly interesting and valuable, as it illustrated 

 a series of experiments in economic fiber investigation conducted by 

 Dr. Guilfoyle, director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, the specimens 

 being properly and systematically labeled and accompanied by valu- 

 able notes and descriptive matter. 



It was this collection, with its carefully prepared notes, that laid the 

 foundation of the present work, in which has been embodied the notes 

 of collections from every important international exhibition since that of 

 1876, and which has been largely augmented by the results of personal 

 study, observation, and investigation during many years, as well as 

 through the more recent examination of all available publications relat- 

 ing to the subject. 



The result has been the enumeration of 1,018 species of useful fiber 

 plants, the more important of which are fully described and treated 

 from the botanical, agricultural, and industrial standpoints ; being 

 described or referred to under their scientific, commercial, common, and 

 native names (as far as the latter could be obtained and properly veri- 

 fied) ; the kind of fiber produced, the part of the plant producing it, as 

 well as the position of the species in the vegetable kingdom, being indi- 

 cated, and in some instances the name of museum or museums stated 

 where specimens of the fiber are preserved. The first pages were 

 definitely prepared for publication about three years ago, after the close 



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