DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



277 



taken before fully expanded and peeled upon both sides. The thin strips of iibrous 

 material thus obtained are afterwards divided into narrower strips by a kind of 

 comb, according to the purpose for which they are to be used. 



It appears as flat, straw-colored strips, about half to three-quarters inch wide 

 and from 3 to 4 feet long. It is capable of being divided into tine threads. In Mad- 

 agascar it is used for delicately plaited goods, hats, mats for covering floors, and 

 wrapping up goods. The loose strips are extensively used in this country in place of 

 Russian bast or tie bands 

 by gardeners and nursery- 

 men. More recently it has 

 been woven into superior 

 matting, tastefully col- 

 ored, and used instead of 

 tapestry for covering 

 walls in London houses. 

 Raffia usually reaches this 

 country (England) loose- 

 ly plaited in hanks weigh- 

 ing from 1£ to 3 pounds 

 each. These are made up 

 into bales weighing !.■§■ to 

 5^ hundredweight. The 

 preparation of raffia is one 

 of the most extensive in- 

 dustries in Madagascar. 

 The men cut the palm 

 leaves in the forests and 

 bring them home for the 

 women to complete the 

 work. The fiber is cured 

 the same day it is stripped. 

 (Dr. Morris.) 



The Kew Mus. contains 

 examples of coarse cloth 

 made by the natives of the 

 upper Congo. This cloth 

 is the universal clothing 

 of the Malagasy slaves. 



The fiber is exported to the United States in the hanks described above, its only 

 use being as a tie material in nurseries, etc. 



Raphia taedigera. The Jupati Palm. 



Found on the banks of the lower Amazon and Para rivers in Brazil, but unknown 

 in the interior. The cylindrical leafstalks, often 12 feet or more in length, are em- 

 ployed by the natives for walls or partitions of their houses, and used in other 

 ways. 



Fiber. — The fiber is similar in every respect to the preceding and is used for the 

 same purposes, some of the strips being exported to England for use as tie mate- 

 rial, especially in hop fields. Among its native uses may be mentioned cordage and 

 fishing nets. 



This species is now regarded by botanists as identical with the next. 



Raphia vinifera. Bamboo Palm. 



Common and native names. — Wine palm of West Africa. (The Palm) Igi- 

 ogura, Eriko, and ATcpako, Yorubaland; (the fiber) Iyo. 

 Abundant on the borders of rivers intersecting the countries near the sea, in 



Fig. 92.— The Kaffia palm, Raphia rujjia. 



