DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 113 



tured into ropes of great strength and durability, which are used for tying elephants. 

 It is both regular and compact, and its manufacture exhibits considerable skill. In 

 Australia, Dr. Guilfoyle says, it is nsed for making paper. As high as $16,000 worth 

 of this fiber has been exported from Ceylon in a single year; it enters largely into 

 the manufacture of brushes, and there is a considerable demand. '"The fiber, as it 

 is called, forms at the base of the leaves of the palm, in a strong sort of bracing, that 

 tends to hold the leaf against the stem as it appears on both sides of the blade of the 

 leafstalk. This is removed with a knife from the fallen leaves, and then cleaned, to 

 free it from extraneous matter, and finally put up into bobbins, in shape not unlike 

 a torpedo, when it is ready for sale. Ropes, and even fishing lines, are made from 

 kitul fiber, as it is easily twisted into fine cord, and is strong and durable." (Hand- 

 book of Ceylon.) 



When first imported the finer fibers were used for mixing with horsehair for stuff- 

 ing cushions. As the fiber is imported it is of a dusky-brown color, but after it 

 arrives here it is cleaned, combed, and arranged in long, straight fibers, after which 

 it is steeped in linseed oil to make it more pliable ; this, also, has the effect of darken- 

 ing it, and it becomes, indeed, almost black. It is softer and more pliable than pias- 

 saba, and can consequently be used either alone or mixed with bristles in making 

 soft, long-handled brooms, which are extremely durable, and can be sold at about a 

 third the price of ordinary hair brooms. The use of Kiitool fiber is said to be spread- 

 ing not only in this country but also on the Continent. During 1895 Kiitool fiber 

 has not been much in demand. (Cantor Lectures, Morris.) Its chief use in the 

 United States is for the manufacture of brewer's brushes. 



* Specimens. — Field. Col. Mus. ; Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. Phil. Com. Mus. 



Caryota spp. 



C. mitis is mentioned by Savorgnan as another species found in Ceylon, from the 

 leaves of which a kind of Crin vegetal is manufactured called Black fiber. Ber- 

 nardin also mentions C. onusta from the Philippine Islands, called Cabo Xegro- 

 C. onusta is Arenga sacliarifera. 



Cascara (Peru.) See Couratari legalis. 



Cascara also means a husk, as, Cascara de coco, husk of the cocoanut. 



Cassia auriculata. Tanner's Cassia. 



Exogen. Leguminosw. 

 The species of this genus are more important from the medical standpoint as pro- 

 ducing " Senna," besides gums, tans, and dyes. C. auriculata is merely mentioned as 

 yielding fiber in its bast. " Specimens of the bark were sent to tho Calcutta Exhi- 

 bition from Cuddapah, Madras, as a tanning material, but an excellent fiber was 

 prepared from a surplus of this bark and made into rope. The fibrous property of 

 the plant does not appear to have been investigated. The caterpillar of a large spe- 

 cies of silkworm feeds on the leaves of this plant." ( Watt.) 



Cassytha melantha. Common Scrub Vine of Australia. 



Mentioned by Dr. Guilfoyle as a fiber-producing species. These scrub vines some- 

 times form impenetrable thickets. The plant belongs to a common genus of semi- 

 parasitical leafless, thread-like plants. Their habit is to twine around other trees, 

 with which they come in contact, with their wire-like branches. They are some- 

 times called Dodder laurels. C. filiformis is found in India. 



Castilloa elastica. 



Exogen. Moracea\ A tree. 

 This species abounds in Mexico and Central America. It has male and female 

 flowers alternating one with the other on the same branch. The male flowers have 

 12247— No. & 8 



