302 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



subsequent separation of the woody portions of the stem somewhat as ilax is pre- 

 pared, after which the fiber is combed and cleaned ready for spinning. It has been 

 employed in paper manufacture, as upholstery material, as a tie material, for cord- 

 age manufacture, and. lastly, for weaving into fabrics. At Casciana, in Italy, on the 

 Leghorn and Florence Railway, hot-spring water is used for the retting; and a com- 

 pany was some years since formed for growing the plant and manufacturing the 

 fiber on a large scale. Specimens of the fiber were exhibited at the Vienna Exhibi- 

 tion of 1873 from Florence, Italy, with a memorandum as follows: Taking note of 

 the expense necessary to render this filament flexihle and fit for weaving, we find 

 that it is considerably less than that for flax and hemp and that the fabric obtained 

 is more tenacious and also lighter, since from 11 kilos of llax we obtain GO meters of 

 cloth, while the same measure woven from ginestra weighs only 7 kilos, and the cost 

 of the first is 72 lire, while that of the second, according to the experiments made, 

 cost only 45 lire. 



In Spain very fine tissues are made from this species, and even lace, which is 

 highly prized. In southern France likewise, ordinary fabrics are made from the 

 plant, which are worn by the peasants in the mountainous regions, and said to be 

 very durable. 



The ancient use of this fiber is very interesting. The Greeks, Romans, and Car- 

 thagenians employed it for cordage of all descriptions, nets, bags, and even sails. 

 Pliny writes of the Ginestra, and in the thirteenth century the fiber was employed 

 for wadding and in tow "that may be used in place of hemp and flax."' The Italian 

 peasants from time immemorial have used this fiber for the manufacture of tin coarse 

 Parmo Ginesiro or Ginestra cloth, though the factories have never employed it in spin- 

 ning and weaving. 



Cultivation. — The seed is sown in winter, with some other crop. For three years 

 the plant receives only an occasional thinning out. The young spring shoots are cut 

 in February-March, or sometimes not till after harvest, the former being preferable. 

 Toward the end of August, they are collected in small haudfuls, and laid on the 

 ground to dry, after which they are made up into large bundles, of 25 to 30 handfuls 

 each, and stored. On a damp day they are beaten with a mallet, so as to flatten 

 them without breaking them, and toward the end of September they are put under 

 stones in a river for half a day. In the evening they are taken out and arranged in 

 rows on a specially prepared plot of ground, near the stream, ready for watering. 

 For this purpose a bed of fern, straw, or chopped box is prepared, and in this the 

 bundles of broom. are placed one over another, the whole heap being finally covered 

 with another layer of straw or box, on the top of which stones are placed, so as to 

 keep the whole secure, and exclude sun and air. Thus placed, it is watered every 

 night for eight days, allowing about 1 hectoliter water for each bundle of 50 handfuls. 

 On the ninth day the retting is complete. The bundles are then alternately washed 

 in running water, and beaten on a flat stone, till the fiber is separated from the 

 woody portion. The bundles are next spread fan-wise on the ground to dry and 

 bleach, when they are again collected and put away till winter. (Spon.) 



Spatholobus roxburghii. 

 Syn. Butea parviflora. 

 A gigantic climber, belonging to the Leguminosce, found in the "forests of the sub- 

 Himalayan tract from the Jumna eastward to Bengal and Burmah. The plant yields 

 a gum, the seeds an oil, and the bark a fiber that is twisted into ropes and bow- 

 strings.'' (Die. Ec. Prod. Ind.) 



Spathodea rheedii. 



A tall tree belonging to the Bignoniacece, found in portions of India ami Malabar. 

 The species of this genus are natives of Asia and Africa. "A fiber i- extracted from 

 both the branches and roots, used for making net^." | Spon.) The revised name of 

 this species is DoUchandrune rheedii. 



