131 



any fair comparative trial of its tenacity. The so- 

 ciety is also in possession of fibre from the leaves of 

 the Black Antigua pine, and from the Penguin pine 

 of Jamaica, which latter is occasionally made into 

 ropes in the West Indies, but is not the object of any 

 regular manufacture, the expense of labour in these 

 colonies rendering it more advantageous to import 

 from England cordage ready made. It appears hke- 

 wise {Bennetfs Wanderings in Xeiv South Wales, 

 ^c.j vol. II. p. 207), that at Singapore the Chinese 

 settlers obtain fibre from the leaves of the wild pine 

 apple, which fibres are exported to China, where they 

 are employed as a material for linen. Also, in the 

 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for January, 

 1832, is a paper by Lieutenant-Colonel Watson on 

 Cherra-poonjee, the sanatory station recently occupied 

 by the East India Company, in which it is stated 

 (p. 27) that the pine apple plant flourishes in great 

 abundance in the adjacent vallies, 4200 feet above 

 the level of the sea ; and that the leaves are gathered 

 by the natives for the purpose of obtaining from 

 them, by a veiy simple process, a strong fibre, which 

 they employ as the material of the net pouches or 

 bags in common use. among them. 



Miss Davy, having resided in a district of India 

 where the pine apple grows wild, tried to prepare a 

 thread equal to the finest flax thread manufactured in 

 Europe, and she forvvarded this to the Indian Hor- 



