282 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



forms a considerable industry in Florida, this material being produced in the works 

 located at Jacksonville. The source of the fiber is the "boots,"' or spathes of the 

 leaf stems, which surround the "bud," or cabbage, and in securing these buds, with 

 the leaf sterns, the tree is sacrificed. The buds are cut out in the localities to the 

 southward, where large groves are to be found, and are shipped to the central fac- 

 tory. Here they are steamed, to soften and loosen the mass, when the boots are 

 removed and are immediately crushed by passing under a series of stamps similar to 

 the device formerly employed in crushing gold ore in Colorado. The softened and 

 crushed boots are then subjected to an automatic combing machine, which takes out 

 the soft liber, leaving about 25 per cent of the original fibrous material, in the form 

 of stiff reddish fibers, considerably finer than piassaba, and averaging 15 to 18 inches 

 in length. These fibers are then sorted, or " drafted,' 7 and are made up in bundles 

 of different lengths, to be oiled and polished. The ends are then cut square, and the 

 fiber, in the form of small bundles, is ready for the brush maker. The different 

 lengths are known as "long draft," " short draft," etc. The brushes produced are 

 made in many forms and are useful for many purposes. 



The soft or tangled fiber has not been largely utilized, otherwise than to strew over 

 the streets of Jacksonville, possibly as a kind of "sand-bind" material. It has been 

 used to slight extent as the fibrous portion of artificial board, though not to the 

 extent of making it an industry. It might be used as a cheap substitute for coir. 

 The selected leaves of the cabbage palmetto are capable of manufacture into hats 

 for summer wear, of great beauty and finish. In the bazaars of Florida cities that are 

 winter resorts ladies' hats made of this material are regularly sold, and men's hats 

 are also made from this species. For hat manufacture the leaves are whitened by 

 brushing with a solution of oxalic acid once or twice, after which they are bleached 

 by exposing to the fumes of burning sulphur. The leaves are also plaited into orna- 

 mental basket work, and are also used, when torn into strips, in the manufacture of 

 fly brushes, which are regularly sold in the local bazaars and house-furnishing estab- 

 lishments. 



The bud, or "cabbage," of S. palmetto is prized by the Seminole Indians as an article 

 of food; after cutting out and trimming the bud it is boiled. S. aclansoni is the 

 dwarf palm of Georgia and Florida. The stem is short or entirely under ground. 

 Its leaves are used for plaiting into hats. S. olackburnianum is known as the Ber- 

 muda palm, and its leaves are manufactured into hats, baskets, fans, and other useful 

 articles. S. mexicanum is a Mexican species, which is said to be cultivated. Like the 

 preceding species its leaves are utilized, being made into mats and other articles. 

 S. umbraculifcrum, the palmetto royal, is a form of S. blackburnianum, which is utilized 

 in Jamaica, the outside portions of the trunk being employed for boarding up native 

 huts and forming partitions. Savorgnan states that hats and sandals are made from 

 this palm, the fiber being very strong and indestructible. See also Serenoa, the saw 

 palmetto. 



* Specimens of Sabal palmetto brush fiber in series, and various articles from the 

 leaves, are preserved in the Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. ; the U. S. Nat. Mus., and the Field 

 Col. Mus. 



Saccharum officinarum. Sugar Cake. 



This species belongs to a genus of grasses of the tribe Andropoyonecr. Over 60 

 species have been described, covering a wide geographical range, though for the 

 most part natives of tropical and subtropical countries. S. officinarum was probably 

 first cultivated in India, although its varieties are uow spread over the world. It 

 has been cultivated in tropical America since 1610. 



Stkuctural Fiber. — The fiber from this species is derived from the refuse after 

 the cane has passed through the crushing mills. In India it was recommended as a 

 useful paper material by Liotard. A further use in manufacture in a small way, 

 according to the Die. Ec. Prod. Ind.. Vol. VI, pt. 2, is for well ropes, and on the 

 Chenab it is twisted into rough cordage used for tying logs into rafts. The destruc- 



