DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 159 



brushes, carpet brushes, and velvet brushes, Avhich are shipped to tbis country at 

 exceedingly low prices. The broom root therefore appears to be a cheap substi- 

 tute for Venetian whisk, and it is said that when made into brushes and thoroughly 

 dry it is apt to become brittle and break off. For tbis reason it lias never found 

 much favor in England. (Kew Bull., Dec, 1887.) Employed in the United States. 



Epicampes rigens. Wood Reed Grass. 



This species is found in California, Mexico, and eastward in New Mexico to west- 

 ern Texas. It is a tall-growing rigid grass, pale yellowish green in color, growing 

 in tufts in the alkaline regions. It is used by the Indians in basket manufacture. See 

 account under Salix lasiandra. 



Epilobium angustifolium. Willow Herb. Fireweed. 



Exogen. Cnagracea'. Perennial herb. 



The species of Epilobium are mostly perennial herbaceous plants from 2 to 7 feet 

 high, bearing pod-like vessels, which are filled with cottony seeds. 



Surface Fiber. — Samples of Epilobium down, or silk cotton, were received from 

 Utica, N. Y v by the Flax and Hemp Commission in 1863, as specimens of a liber that 

 might be used as a substitute for cotton for textile purposes. The fiber was accom- 

 panied by home-made samples of " thread," rope, and a piece of quilting to illustrate 

 the value of the fiber as a substitute for cotton batting. The fibers are not half the 

 length of upland cotton, or not more than three-eighths of an inch, and consequently 

 could not be spun ; and, even mixed with other fibers, would fly off in the process 

 of manufacture; the fiber is soft, has a silky luster, and is of a creamy white 

 color. Examined microscopically, the filaments consist, like most seed hairs, of sin- 

 gle cells. Their walls are very thin, make sharp bends, and seem to be brittle, with- 

 out the least wind or twist, and, while resembling the down of Asclepias, are of less 

 length, with a rather strong longitudinal marking. The specimens are only inter- 

 esting in the light of experiment, and from the fact of their having been presented 

 by the Flax and Hemp Commission. 



Bast Fiber. — The stalks yield a bast which, according to R. H. Ballinger, of Port 

 Townsend, Wash., is used by the Indians of the Northwest for fiber. The fiber is 

 doubtless extracted in the green state, for the bast stripped from the dry stalks was 

 a most unpromising source of fiber material. 



Spon mentions fireweed under the name Erechthites liieracifolia, and says that the 

 plant springs up as a weed on recently cleared land in America. "Its seed pods yield 

 a fiber much resembling cotton, but the seeds are smaller and require no ginning to 

 separate them from the boll. This fiber may be spun and woven, and wicks, ropes, 

 yarn, and paper are said to have been made from it. The application to paper mak- 

 ing was especially successful, the product comparing well with the silk-made papers 

 of China and Japan." I can find no reference to such use of this plant in America 

 under the name fireweed. 



Eragrostis cynosuroides. Dab Grass. 



Endogen. (Waminece. Perennial grass. 



Northwestern Provinces of India. 



Fiber. — It produces a fairly strong structural fiber used for making ropes. In 

 the Karnai Settlement Report it is stated that the fiber is used for the ropes of Per- 

 sian wheels, and they are said to last for three months or more. Stewart remarks 

 that the upper part of the stem is in some places used for making the seives employed 

 in paper manufacture. 



Erba bianca (It.). See Artemisia vulgaris. 



Erica spp. The Heathworts. 



E. scoparia and E. vulgaris (now Calluna vulgaris) are stated by Savorgnan to be 

 manufactured into brooms, the stems being used. 



