VI 



COCO-NUT PRODUCTS 



183 



Name of Fibre. 



Breaking strength 



Breaking strength. 



when fresh. 



after 116 days in water. 





kg. 



kg- 



A 7 



Afenga saccliarijera 



to 





ooir .... 



Ov 



OA 



Jute .... 



30-31 



18-22 



Sanseviera zeylanica 



04 



1 o 



16 



Crotalaria juncea . 



31 



decayed 



English hemp 



47 



j> 



Calcutta hemp 



34 



>j 



Agave americana . 



50 



5? 



Of the fibres represented in this table then, the most 

 resistant to decay are Arenga (the sugar-palm, Cabo 

 Negro) and after it coir. Arenga is the best of them 

 where it can be obtained, and is accordingly first choice 

 in all such places, but it is not an article of general 

 commerce. 



In the comparison of fibres it is a matter of interest 

 to know the relative measurements of the cells which 

 make up the strand of fibre, and the word fibre is some- 

 times applied not to a whole strand but to one of these 

 individual cells. When these cells are very long they 

 are accordingly fastened firmly together. Other things 

 being equal, the longer the cell the stronger the strand 

 of texture. The following table, taken from Lecomte's 

 Textiles Vegetaux, gives these data for a few of the 

 important commercial fibres : 



Name of Fibre. 



Average length 



Average diameter 



in mm. 



in microns. 



Boehmeria nivea — Ramie . 



150 



40 



Cannabis sativa — Hemp . 



28 



20 



Linum usitatissimum — Flax 



20 



25 



Musa textilis — Abaca 



6 



24 



Agave americana — Hennequin . 



2-5 



24 



Corchorus — Jute 



1-9 



17-5 



Cocos nucifera — Coir 



07 



20 



