DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 163 



timber. E. globulus, the blue gum, E. gigantea, the stringy bark, and E. amygdalina, 

 the peppermint tree, yield the best quality. Eucalyptus oil bas attracted some 

 attention in late years, particularly since tbe Philadelphia exhibition of 1876. 

 E. globulus is well known through its having been recommended for planting in 

 malarial districts of this country. 



Bast Fiber. — A specimen of the tow of E. obliqua was received from the Victorian 

 collection, Phil. Int. Exh., 1876, prepared by Dr. Guilfoyle. The fiber is reddish in 

 color, of little strength, and has been prepared experimentally. No data accom- 

 panied the specimen regarding its value, either for fiber or for paper stock, though 

 the aborigines of Australia are known to manufacture both canvas and cordage from 

 the eucalyptus, which would indicate not only strength, but considerable fineness. 

 Fiber marked Eucalyptus fissilis was also sent to the Phil. Int. Exh., 1876, prepared by 

 the director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, Victoria. Watt mentions that the 

 bark of E. globulus yields a substance which has been found suitable for paper mak- 

 ing in India. Dr. Ferd. von Mueller also mentions the following species : E. gonicalyx, 

 white gum tree, good packing paper; E. leucoxylon, iron bark of New South Wales, 

 rough packing paper; E. longifolia, packing paper; E. stuartiana, packing paper and 

 pasteboard; E. rostrata, blotting arid filter paper. 



"Specimens. — Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Eugeissona insignis. 



A species of palm found in Borneo. "From the roots the natives weave their 

 hampers, baskets, and arm coverings' 7 (Savorgnan). Spon mentions E. tristis, a 

 native of Penang, the fibrous leaves of which are woven into mats. 



Eupatorium cannabinum. Hemp Agrimony. 



A species of Composite, native to Europe, found growing in wet meadows; called 

 wild hemp, or, in Italy, Cauapa salvatlca. "The stalk yields material for cords/' but 

 of slight value. There are many representatives of the genus in North America, but 

 none is recognized as the source of a useful textile. 



Euphorbia palustris. 



Exogen. Euplwrbiacece. 



Representatives of the genus are found in many parts of the world, some of the 

 species that are cultivated in greenhouses being remarkable for the brilliant scarlet 

 bracts of the involucre. Some of the species are used in pharmacy, and the milky 

 juice of many, after drying, can be used as a gum or resin, though exceedingly 

 acrid. 



Fiber. — In the Italian work of M. A. Savorgnan the species named is stated to 

 grow in marshy places and " to furnish textile fiber of very fine quality, but difficult 

 to extract; " should be regarded as a curious rather than a useful fiber. 



Euterpe acuminata. 



Endogen. Palma>. 



The palms of the genus Euterpe are of " extremely graceful habit, having slender, 

 almost cylindrical stems, sometimes nearly 100 feet in height, surmounted by a tuft 

 of pinnate leaves, the leaflets of which are narrow, very regular and close together, 

 and generally hang downward. The bases of the leafstalks are dilated, and form 

 cylindrical sheaths round a considerable portion of the upper part of the stem, giving 

 it a woolen appearance. Ten species are known, all natives of the forests of tropical 

 South America, where they grow together in large masses; some inhabiting moist, 

 swampy places on the banks of rivers, and others extending a considerable height up 

 the sides of mountains." 



Structural Fiber. — Specimens of fiber from the leaves of this palm were cata- 

 logued in the exhibit of Costa Rica, W. C. E., 1893, from Talmarca, under the desig- 



