DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 91 



the elasticity of wool and silk, nor the flexibility of cotton; but it will always be 

 preferred for making articles requiring the strength to resist the wear and tear of 

 washing or exposure to weather. This facility to imitate all other textiles is one 

 of the principal causes which has kept back the development of the ramie industry; 

 and if, instead of launching out into a series of experiments, attention had been con- 

 centrated upon the exclusive manufacture of those articles to which the properties 

 of the plant were peculiarly and naturally adapted, this industry would probably be 

 in a more advanced condition than it is at present. The Department of Agriculture 

 has held to this position since its work in this field was begun. The folly of build- 

 ing up a ramie manufacturing industry on a false basis, that is, employing the textile 

 as a substitute for something else, is to be deprecated. The fiber should be used in 

 those articles of economic necessity which would appear on the market as ramie, that 

 any distinctive merit the textile may possess will become known, not only to the 

 ramie trade, but to consumers of the product. 



Authorities. — The publications upon this subject are legion. A few principal 

 English references are therefore given, viz : Report on Rhea Fiber ( Watson.), London, 

 1875; various articles in Bull. Royal Kew Gardens (Morris.); Die. Ec. Prod. Ind. 

 ( Watt. ) ; Spon's Enc, pt. 3 ; Reports 1, 2,- and 7, Fiber Investigations series, U. S. Dept. 

 Ag. (Dodge.) ; Bulletin of the Experiment Station of Louisiana, No. 32 (Stubbs.), and 

 of the California Experiment Station, Nos. 90 and 94. (Hilgard.) See also the French 

 publications of Favier, De Landtsheer, Michotte, Roux, and of the Ministry of Agri- 

 culture. 



Boehmeria tenacissima. Ramie, or Rhea. 



Tropical variety of B. nivea. Dr. Morris states that the term ramie, or rhea, should 

 only be applied to tenacissima, which may be known by its robust habit and larger 

 leaves, which are green on both surfaces, and which do not show the silvery white 

 under surface characterizing B. nivea, or the plant belonging to a temperate climate. 

 For general statements as to cultivation, etc., see the preceding species. 



Bog Moss (See Sphagnum cymbifolium). 



Bois (Fr.).=wood. 



ceip, Ocotea sieberi ; dentelle, Lagetta lintearia; Vome, Guazuma 



ulmifolia; sang, see Croton. 



Bola (Beng.). See Hibiscus Uliaceus. 

 Bolobolo (W. Afr.). See Honckenya. 

 Bombax ceiba. God-tree. Yaxche. 



Exogen. Halvacew. A large tree. 



This species of Bombax, or silk cotton tree, was considered by A. Smith, in the 

 Treasury of Botany, to be the same as Eriodendron anfractuosum. Examples of 

 silk cotton labeled Ceiba were received from the Mexican exhibit at the World's 

 Columbian Exhibition of 1893. On the authority of Dr. Ernst, of the National 

 Museum of Caracas, " Ceiba" fiber is stated to be the product of Bombax ceiba, and 

 is applied to the same uses as the silk cottons from allied species. The Peruvian 

 name is Huimbaquiro-ceibo. 



Surface Fiber. — Distinguished by its yellowish color and lustrous silky appear- 

 ance. Like other seed hairs, it can not be spun unless mixed with other fibers. 

 " Used in the manufacture of mattresses, cushions, etc., and the bark is useful for 

 cordage" (Dorca). See Ceiba, Bombax malabaricum, and Eriodendron anfractuosum, 

 in the alphabetical arrangement. 



Bombax malabaricum. Red Silk Cotton. 



Syn., Salmalia malabarica. 

 The Simal Tree of India. Abounds throughout the hotter forests of India and 

 Burma; distributed to Java and Sumatra, 



