rhomboidea 



"Extra Fine" 



(•'Nzonogwi"). 



Indian Jute. 



104 



9-6 



0-6 



0-6 



9-1 



9-1 



14-7 



13-1 



8-5 



8-5 



3-4 



2-0 



30-2 



36-7 



76-2 



77-7 



2-0-2-8 mm. 



1-5-3-0 mm. 



0-08-0-11 in. 



0-06-0-12 in. 



107 



A sample from Nyasaland examined at the Imperial Institute 

 shewed the following characters. The analysis of a sample of 

 extra fine Indian Jute is given for comparison : — 



Triumfetta 



Moisture per cent. ... 

 Ash, per cent. 



a-Hydrolysis, loss per cent. 

 ^-Hydrolysis „ ,, 



Mercerisation „ „ 



Acid purification, loss per cent — 

 Nitration, gain per cent. ... 

 Cellulose, per cent. 



Length of ultimate fibre ... j 



(Bull. Imp. Inst. 1905, p. 25.) 



For spinning purposes the fibre is regarded as the same as that 

 of Sida rliombifolia (q.v.). 



For preparation of the fibre the stems are cut close to the ground 

 and scraped with a knife in order to remove the smaller branches 

 and the rough hairy epidermis. The bark is readily stripped from 

 the stems, and the ribbons so obtained have an average length of 

 5 \ feet. After these ribbons have been immersed in water for 

 14 days the fibre is easily separated from the pulp, then cleaned 

 by washing, and afterwards dried by exposure to the sun for 

 24 to 48 hours (Bull. Imp. Inst, 1905, p. 23). 



All the species belonging to this genus are mucilaginous and 

 are used as demulcents, but this species is the one generally 

 employed. The mucilage is said to make a serviceable injection 

 for inveterate gonorrhoea. The burr-like fruit in India is believed 

 to promote parturition. The plant is sometimes eaten as a pot- 

 herb (Diet. Econ. Prod. Ind.). It is eaten by buffaloes (De Wilde- 

 man, PI. Util. Congo, Art. xxxi. p. 548). 



For particulars of cultivation see Sida rliombifolia and Corchorus 

 cajisularis. The plant is said to grow well on any marshy 

 soil. It is one of the most troublesome weeds on the scrub lands 

 of tropical Queensland (Bailey, in Queensland Agric. Journ. viii. 

 1901, p. Ill) ; Grant described it as common everywhere (Trop. 

 Africa, 5° S.) flowering in March (Botany of Speke and Grant Exp. 

 Trans. Linn. Soc. xxix. p. 41) ; flowering, Cross River region, 

 December and January (Holland, Herb. Kew). 



Be/.— " Nzonogwi Fibre," in Bull. Imp. Inst. 1905, pp. 24-25.— 

 " Denje and Nzonogwi Fibres," in " Jute Substitutes from the 

 Nyasaland Irotectorate," I.e. 1907, pp. 375-378. 



HONCKENYA, Willd. 



Honckenya ficifolia, Willd. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 260. 



III. — Usteri, Delectus Opusc. Bot, ii. t, 4 ; Deless. Ic. v. t. 1 

 {Clapper tonia Jicifoiia) ; Bot, Mag. t. 7836 (flowered at Kew 

 September, 1901, seeds from Lagos). 



