DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 103 



this or allied species. C. rotang also supplies the material for Malacca canes. " They 

 are imported in large quantities from Siak, and are valued according to the length of 

 their internodes, the longest heing used for walking sticks and the shorter ones for 

 the handles of chimney-sweepers' brushes, etc." (Off. Guide Kew Mus.) 



The European uses of canes are even more varied than the Asiatic. They are 

 valued on account of their lightness, flexibility, and strength. They are extensively 

 used as walking sticks, umbrella handles, and even as a substitute for whalebone 

 for umbrella and parasol ribs, each set of such ribs costing only from Id. to 2|d. 

 instead of 2s. 6d. to 3s. for whalebone. Cane is also extensively employed in saddlery 

 and harness, and a wickerwork of rattan is now used in the construction of the 

 German military helmet, which is said to make it sword proof. But the chief pur- 

 pose to which cane is put in Europe is in furniture and basket making. 



In the United States rattan is used in a great variety of manufactures, among 

 which may be enumerated chairs and other articles of furniture, chair seating, baby 

 carriage bodies, baskets, floor mattings, brooms, corset stays, whips, and other uses 

 of minor importance. 



Calamus rudentum. The Ma-wewel. 



Several species of rattan palms abound in Ceylon. Among the most common 

 are C. rudentum, C. pacnystemonus, and C. radiatus (the Icuhul-wel) . 



These palms are common throughout the damp forests of the island up to 3,500 

 feet altitude. In some districts they occur in great abundance, affording a con- 

 spicuous feature in the forests, their tall feathery heads overhanging the highest 

 trees, while their powerful stems, often 200 feet in length, appear like green cables 

 coiling about the ground in curious contortions and disorder. The first two species 

 named are very largely used for a variety of purposes, such as the manufacture of 

 baskets, chairs, crates, and the hoods of carts; while, split into strips and twisted, 

 they become most powerful ropes. A very large trade is done in making tables and 

 chairs of these canes, of which the most familiar is probably the well-known "deck 

 chair," to be found on every passenger ship in eastern waters. The two smaller 

 canes, C. pacliystemonus and C. radiatus, the stems of which only attain the thickness 

 of a pencil, are used in vast quantities for the manufacture of baskets for Ceylon 

 tea gardens, for receiving the tea leaves as they are plucked from the bushes; in 

 fact, so great is the quantity consumed in this way that if the canes used in these 

 baskets were put end to end they would extend for some thousands of miles. In 

 addition to its use in basket making, C. radiatus supplies the material for making 

 the bottoms of chairs, for which purpose it is first split into long thin strips to ren- 

 der it elastic and pliable. Twisted, the Icukul-ivel supplies rope for towing purposes, 

 as its tenacity is prodigious. Finally, the thin strips cut from this cane are used for 

 making frames for hats used by some of the laboring classes in Ceylon. (Official 

 Cat. and Handbook, Ceylon Courts, W. C. E., 1893.) 



C. equestris is a scandent palm found in the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, and the 

 Philippines, and also cultivated in conservatories. " On account of the flexibility 

 and elasticity of its delicate branches it is much sought for making harness, the 

 reins of bridles," etc. 



Calathea zebrina. Zebra Plant. 



A representative species of a genus of Marantacew inhabiting the West Indies and 

 South America. Bernardin mentions this Jamaica species as producing a fiber. 

 " The species are natives of tropical America, and some of them are in cultivation for 

 the sake of their handsome foliage, especially C. zebrina, the leaves of which have 

 alternate dark-colored and green stripes. The leaves of some of the South American 

 kinds are used for making baskets." (Dr. Masters.) 



Caldera bush (see Pandanus). 

 Calla-wel (Ceyl.). See Derris scandens. 



