94 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



Brecco (Tuscan). See Chrysopogon gryllus. 



Bricks, Ancient Clay. Made with stems of Poa abyssinica. 



Brazil-nut Tree (see LlerthoUetia). 



Broad-leaved flax lily (Tasm.). DianeUa latifolia. 



Brome (Fr.). Abroma augusta. 



Bromelia spp. 



A genus of plants having very short stems and densely packed, rigid, lance-shaped 

 leaves, the margins of which are armed with sharp spines. They are natives of 

 tropical America, though they have heen distributed to the East Indies, Africa, and 

 other countries, several species being cultivated as greenhouse plants. 



While many species are known to produce fiber, three or four are regarded valuable 

 as fiber plants, among them B.pinguin being the best known, v> hile all are interesting. 

 "B.fastuosa, commonly cultivated in greenhouses in England, yields fiber in New 

 Granada" (Dr. ITorris), and Spon states that B. sagenaria, 1 known in Brazil as the 

 Curratow, is worthy of cultivation for its fiber. In portions of Mexico a Bromelia, 

 cultivated as a textile plant, yields a fiber which is described as very fine, from 6 to 

 8 feet in length, and from its fineness and toughness commonly used in belt-making 

 works. It also finds application in the manufacture of many articles, such as bag- 

 ging for baling cotton, wagon sheets, carpets, etc., besides forming a valuable material 

 for making cordage, nets, hammocks, and similar articles of common use. Beautiful 

 examples of Bromelia fiber were brought back from Santo Domingo in 1871 by Dr. C. C. 

 Parry, and at the W, C. E. many unnamed fibers of great length and fineness were 

 shown which doubtless were derived from species of this genus. There is great con- 

 fusion regarding the species of Bromelia yielding fiber, which can only be cleared 

 up by studying the plants where they grow and extracting the fiber from the differ- 

 ent species. 



Bromelia argentina. CaraguatX. 



Endogen. Bromeliaceo?. Aloe-like leaf cluster. 



Allied to the wild pineapple, Bromelia pinguin. Abounds in Paraguay and in 

 northwestern Argentina. "Very abundant in the Gran Chaco and Missiones terri- 

 tories, Corrientes, and Santa Fe. Two forms are recognized, Caraguata ibira and the 

 Caraguatd de agua." (Xiedeidcin.) 



Structural Fiber. — Soft and silky, obtained in lengths of 4 to 6 feet, medium 

 strength, resembles pineapple fiber. The production is limited to native uses, such 

 as for rude cordage, sacks, etc. There is no doubt that with proper machinery the 

 preparation of this fiber might become a commercial industry in the countries where 

 grown. I have met with it in South American exhibits at international expositions, 

 and the samples secured were remarkably fine, particularly those from Argentina, 

 where two species of Bromelia are thus employed. See also Bromelia serra, or the 

 eli ag nar. 



In the year 1870 Messrs. Branlio Artecona and Louis L. Lenguas made experiments 

 with machinery that they established in the department of Arroyos y Esterios, Para- 

 guayan Republic, having obtained from the Government a concession for the working 

 of this product freely for the space of fifteen years in all fiscal lands, and to export 

 the same when manufactured free of duty. This industry did not give satisfactory 

 results, owing to the inexperience of those in charge and to the imperfection of the 

 machinery. After several fruitless attempts they retired and their concession lapsed. 

 In 1889-90 Mr. Artecona again organized the same industry with modern machinery, 

 and took a contract from the company 'Tejidora/ of Buenos Ayres, for all he could 

 remit. He remitted altogether 400 tons, and the result of the sale might have been 



*£. sagenaria is now referred to Anancu bracteatu*. 



