230 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



In the United States ornamental baskets are sometimes made from the sponge 

 encumber, and among the curious objects of the mnsenm the visitor is shown a l>on- 

 net, worn in the South during the late war, made entirely of this fiber. To prepare 

 it, the cucumbers were cnt through lengthwise upon one side only, and opened out 

 flat, the fibrous walls of the tubes before mentioned forming longitudinal ridges 

 which appeared on the outside of the bonnet. Several cucumbers were required to 

 make this dainty head covering, which was sewed together and afterwards shaped 

 with scissors, and lined on the inside and trimmed with pink cambric. The fruit is 

 from 6 inches to 1 foot in length, the interior being formed of a dense tissue of wiry 

 fibers and containing three longitudinal tubes, in which are found the numerous 

 black seeds. 



The commercial product. — The vegetable sponge does not appear to be an arti- 

 cle of trade and export in any country but Japan, which exports over 1,000,000 

 sponges a year. They are chiefly exported from Yokohama, and some from the ports 

 of Kobe and Nagasaki ; and the principal destinations of exportation are London, 

 Havre, Hamburg, San Francisco, New York, Shanghai, and Hongkong. 



It is grown in every part of Japan, there being two varieties in common cultiva- 

 tion — one long and slender, being used for food, and the other more plump, as a 

 fiber plant. The method of cultivation in Japan is to sow the seed in March, in a 

 seed bed, transplanting to the cultivated fields as soon as the plants show four or 

 five leaves. A horizontal network of bamboo poles is constructed above the plants, 

 upon which the vines twine and spread. Four or five " cucumbers " are grown on a 

 plant, and 21,000 may be grown to the acre. The harvest is in September. 



Lupis. A form of manila hemp. See Musa textilis. 

 Lupulo (Peru). Humuhis Iwpulus. 

 Lycopodium clavatum. Btjnning Pine. 



Lycopodiacew. A club moss. 



The club mosses are found in cold, temperate, and tropical countries, some being 

 prostrate in their habit of growth, while others are erect, the latter frequently of 

 large size. 



L. clavatum abounds in this country in woods from Labrador to Alaska, south to 

 North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington. Also found in Central America and in 

 Europe. The species can scarcely be called a textile plant, though in Sweden it is 

 used in the manufacture of door mats. 



Lygeum spartum. 



Endogen. Graminea\ A perennial grass. 



Native names. — Sennoc and Albardine (Afr.); known in Italy as Lacrime salva- 

 tlche, the weeping sylvan. 



Mediterranean regions; northern Spain and northern Africa. The plant is often 

 confounded with the true esparto, Stipa tenacissima, which abounds in the same 

 regions, and which is the commercial esparto so largely used for the manufacture of 

 paper. L. spartum is an evergreen, its culm solid and cylindrical, from 1 to \h feet 

 in height, having generally only one node, from which comes forth the last leaf.' 

 The leaves are very narrow and from 40 to 70 centimeters in length, smooth and 

 nearly cylindrical, sea green in color, very tenacious, and similar to those of Stipa 

 tenaci88ima. 



Structural Fiber. — Both species are used in Italy in basket manufacture and as 

 covering for the protection of bottles, these articles being exported to the United 

 States and other countries. Savorgnan states that while the term Giunco marino (or 

 sea reed) is applied to several species, Lygeum spartum is usually understood. Proba- 

 bly used, in connection with other species, in the manufacture of Buscola baskets. 

 See Juncus acutus. 





