198 



USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



in the Eerb. < !ol. Univ., X. Y. In Venezuela it is used for a kind of ordinary cordage, 

 and the natives of the Sandwich Islands employ it for rough rope. In other 

 countries it is used for cordage, fishing nets, etc. One of the native Indian methods 

 of preparing the fiber, when a rope is wanted, is to strip the hark from a branch, 

 and holding one end of a strip firmly with the toes it is twisted with the hands. 

 The plant and fiber in India is fully described in Die. Ec. Prod. Ind., Vol. IV, and 

 by George Watt in Selections from the Rec. Gov. Ind. Rev. and Ag. Dept.. 18*8. 

 Dr. Theo. Wolf says: A large tree, but not very thick; the hark is cut off and put 

 in water, where it rots like hemp and loses its outer part, the remainder being a 



fibrous substance which is very strong 

 and soft, and variously used. 



* Specimens. — Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Hicoria spp. Hickory Trees. 



Syn. Carya. 



The species of hickory need no spe- 

 cial description. They do not produce 

 " fiber," though the subdivided wood 

 is used for many purposes in which 

 the true fibers are employed. These 

 are chiefly in the manufacture of bas- 

 ketry and brushes, from splints or 

 strips of the wood. 



The Chicago Fiber Company in- 

 forms me that in the preparation of 

 hickory splints for brush manufacture 

 the material used is second-growth 

 timber. The log is cut up into the 

 lengths required and put in a steam 

 vat for the purpose of softening and 

 removing the bark, after which it is 

 conveyed to a veneering machine, 

 made especially for that purpose: 

 then it is conveyed in large sheets to 

 a chopper, where it is cut into splints 

 in the width required; the splints are 

 then set on a rack to dry. and when 

 dry are pressed into bales from 100 

 to 300 pounds in weight, preparatory 

 to shipment to the brush factory. For 

 preparation of splints for basket mak- 

 ing, see Fraxxnus. Mr. Sudworth in- 

 forms me that a bark fiber from hickory is used in the South. 



Hierochloe odorata. Taxilla Grass. 



Syn. Hierochloe boreali8. Now known ;:s Savastana odorata. 



Endogen. (-raminece. A sweet-scented perennial, 1 to 2 feet. 

 Inhabits moist meadows and mountains of the northeastern States, extending west- 

 ward to Oregon. Grows also in England where it is known as holy or sacred grass, 

 from its having been used for strewing on church floors Known in this country as 

 vanilla grass, Seneca grass, sweet grass, etc. "This grass, remarkable for its fra- 

 grance, has long, creeping rhizomes, from which spring the flowering culms and 

 numerous b>ng-leafed sterile or nowerless shoot-: woven into small mats and hoxes 

 by the Indians. Its odor resembles that of a sweet vernal grass, but is more pow- 

 erful, especially when dry. In some European countries it is believed to have a 

 tendency to induce sleep, ami bunches of it are hung over beds for this purpose." 



Hopi Indian basket grass, Hilaria jamt 



