DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 125 



a-brac made from dark-brown piassaba-like libers probably from the leafspathe, and 

 other objects, including fence material from the leaf stems. The leaves are also 

 used as a thatching material. 



Other uses. — The young leaves are coated with a yellow wax. which is readily 

 collected by jarring or shaking and used for candles. A farina and a starch are also 

 prepared from the bulbous root, while the rootlets produce a medicine. The seeds 

 are a substitute for coffee. A beverage is also yielded by this palm, and the young 

 branches are food for cattle and sheep. 



Specimens. — Complete economic series. Mus. U. S. l>ept. Ag. 



Coquilla palm (Braz.). Attalea funifera. 

 Coquito palm (Chili). See Jubcea. 

 Corchorus spp. 



This genus of Tiliacece numbers between 40 and 50 species of herbaceous plants 

 that are found in both hemispheres, growing in subtropical and tropical climes. The 

 genus is particularly interesting on account of two India species that supply commer- 

 cial fibers to the extent of milions of dollars annually, C. capsularis and C. olitorius. 

 Other species indigenous or growing in India that are mentioned by Dr. Watt are C. 

 acutangulus, fiber coarse; C.antichorus, fiber indifferent : C. fascicularis, fiber has been 

 employed for ropes; C. tridens, locally used for rough cordage: and C. trilocularis, 

 said to furnish a fair cordage fil>er. 



The only species worthy of mention that are found in the Western Hemisphere are 

 C. siliquosus, which see, and C. (vsluans, which Savorgan, quoting Miraglia, states "'is 

 cultivated in equatorial America on an equality with flax and hemp for its fine fiber." 

 The author does not know that this species is considered as a fiber plant ; it is not 

 found in the United States. The commercial species are described below. 



Corchorus capsularis. ) T T . , r 



.rT Jute, Jew s Mallow. . 



olitorius. ) ' 



Exogens. Tiliacece. Tall shrubs, 8 to 15 feet. 



Found wild or in cultivation throughout the hotter parts of India, in which coun- 

 try the two species are supposed to be indigenous. Cultivated by the Malays, and 

 by the Chinese to a limited extent, and have been introduced into the United States. 

 C. olitorius has been naturalized in all parts of the tropics as far north as the shores 

 of the Mediterranean. It is also grown in Egypt and Syria as a pot herb, hence the 

 name Jew's mallow. It should be noted, however, that the commercial fiber known 

 as China jute is not jute at all, but is derived from Abut Hon a rice nun. a plant kno^n as 

 a common American weed. (See.) The commercial species of Corchorus were intro- 

 duced into the United States by the Department of Agriculture about 1870, and the 

 plants were found to thrive in cultivation all along the line of Gulf States and in 

 South Carolina and Florida, though they have not yet been grown to a commercial 

 extent. Passing by the vast literature of the two species as recorded in the Report 

 on the Cultivation of Jute in Bengal, 1874, by Mr. Kerr, in the Diet. Ec. Prod. Ind., 

 in the Kew Bulletin, and other British publications, the two plants will only be 

 considered here from an economic standpoint, and will be treated together as supply- 

 ing the jute of commerce. 



Jute doubtless takes its name from the Sanskrit, as the words "jhont," "jhot," and 

 "jhat" are all derived from the Sanskrit "jhat," meaning --to be entangled." One 

 form of the root is jat, and from it are produced jata im&juta, both meaning "matted 

 hair." The name "jute'" was first used by Dr. Roxburgh. The Bengal name of the 

 plant is "pat" or "paat;" the fiber, "jute;" the cloth, " tat choiee" and " megila." 

 The Malays call the plant "rami tsjina," and the Chinese name is "oi-moa." The 

 native names, however, are legion, almost half a hundred names being recognized in 

 different districts of India, where the plants are cultivated. 



