76 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



and methods of gathering it for market appears in the Kew Bulletin for 1889, from 

 which the following statements have been largely compiled: 



Structural Fiber. — Obtained from the dilated base of the leaf stalks, which 

 separates into a long, coarse fringe, which is collected by the natives by cutting with a 

 small ax. The fiber is stiff, wiry, and a bright chocolate in color, and is employed in 

 the manufacture of brushes; largely used on street-sweeping machines, particularly 

 in London. The natives twist these fibers into coarse cables, which are light and 

 durable, and which will float on the water. 



Fiber from young undeveloped plants, called Bananevraa, is bright colored and 

 more flexible. The fiber from the fully matured plants, called Cogu< iras, is sepa- 

 rated into three qualities — 



(1) Ordinary fiber, which is found wound up among the broken leaves and the 

 upper part of the trunk. 



(2) Balloon, formed by the elder fiber which has fallen to the ground round the 

 base of the trunk. 



(3) Piassava d'olho, or "eye piassava," which is the latest growth, and is in all 

 respects similar to that yielded by the Bananeiras. The latter, on account of its 

 flexibility and color, is chiefly used in tying the bales. Its yield is small. 



Collection and preparation. — The palm grows in the neighborhood of rivers 

 and on land that is always in a half swampy condition. The trees bear liber fit to 

 pull or cut at the of age 6 to 9 years. The mean temperature of the piassava district 

 is 77°. "Crops'' are discovered by exploration, as a tract of scattered trees can not 

 be advantageously worked over. After a suitable location is discovered the camp is 

 stocked with mules and food for both men and animals, and the work begins. The 

 average cut of one man is 3 arrobas per day (1 arroba=32£ pounds) of the loose fiber, 

 though the fiber is only weighed after putting into bundles, into which stones and 

 pieces of palm are often smuggled to add to the weight. After weighing the fiber it 

 is transported to the fazenda of the proprietor, where it is baled (both by hand and 

 by press), ready for shipment to Bahia. Including cutting, expenses of transporta- 

 tion, with wages of muleteers and hire of animals, and then food, packing, labor, com- 

 mission, etc., amount to 2.468 milreis, or, approximately, $1.38. Very little of the 

 fiber is used locally, almost the entire product being exported. Of the annual export 

 of 7,000 tons, Great Britain takes about half, Germany very nearly a quarter, the 

 remainder going to Belgium, France, Portugal, and the southern Republics. 



In the monthly circular of Messrs. Ide & Christie, the London fiber brokers, all 

 the harsher commercial brush fibers are classed under "Piassava,'' the following forms 

 being recognized : Brazilian, Bahia (Attalea funifera) and Para (LcopoJdinla piassaba) ; 

 Kitool, from Ceylon, etc. (Caryota nrens); Palmyra, also from Ceylon (Borassus Jlabel- 

 lifer); "West Africa, Baphia vinifera, and Madagascar, Diciyosperma fibrosum. Bahia 

 piassaba ranges in price from 18s. to 58s. per hundredweight in London. 



A. funifera finds a place in Dr. Ernst's Venezuelan list, known as Chiquechique. Its 

 fiber is an article of export from Venezuela as well as Brazil, some 90,000 pounds 

 having been exported in a single year. "The fiber is employed for brooms, brushes, 

 ropes, and cables. The last are very strong, durable, and so light that they float on 

 water. Recently there have been experiments made in the United States to trans- 

 form these fibers into an article similar to horsehair for making mattresses." (Dr. 

 Ernst.) Principally used in the United States as a brush fiber. 



A. spectabilis, the Curna palm, found on the Rio Negro. Brazil, furnishes in its leaves 

 a thatch material. In Peru it is known as Shacapa, and "the fiber is used for ropes/' 

 James Orton, in The Andes and the Amazon, mentions also A. humboltiana, the Yagua 

 of the Indians. Dorca gives Catirina as t4ie Peruvian name of Attalea. 



* Specimens of fiber and ropes, Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Attalea speciosa. Uauassu Palm. 



This species grows on the dry forest lands of the upper Amazon. It is a noble 

 palm, with a stem 50 or 60 feet high, straight, cylindrical, and nearly smooth. The 



