THE DWARF PALM. 



293 



tlie first labours of autumn. The fibrous thread, when dry, is handed 

 over to the manufacturer. The hair, called light or green, is twisted 

 and curled in its raw state, and packed. For black the fibre is 

 first dyed, by being passed successively through baths of sulphate of 

 iron and logwood. It is then twisted, and the cord again dyed. The 

 firm of Averseng, of Alger, at their works El. Affroun, works up 

 annually 3,500,000 kilogrammes of dry fibre, representing about 

 double that quantity of palm leaves, the average yield of fibre being 

 about 50 per cent. The price of the undyed fibre is 21 or 22 francs 

 the cwt., of good black dyed, 29 or 30 francs, and of superior, 35 to 

 38 francs. In the department of Oran, Messrs. Giraud Brothers, 

 in their large enclosed works at Eckmuhl, covering a space of 5 

 acres, prepare daily 60 bales of 2 cwt. each. The combing is effected 

 by means of drums with needles and knives, worked by a 12-horse 

 power steam engine, at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute. 



They also heat their dye vats by steam, which is much more eco- 

 nomical than the application of direct heat. Another Algerian firm, 

 J. and J. Mathieu, whose factory is at Arbra du Dgendel, in the 

 plains of Cheliff, by a particular process, prepare a black and brilliant 

 crin vegetal without smell or dust, of which they turn out 1000 cwt. 

 a month at 30 francs the cwt., the undyed being sold at 20 francs. 

 This fibre, like the esparto, is also twisted into ropes and cables. It 

 has long been used as a paper-material in conjunction with esparto 

 and rags. The ' Akbar,' a newspaper of Algiers, is printed on paper of 

 this kind, and quantities have been imported from time to time for 

 use at Lloyd's paper mills at Bow. It is not, however, held in much 

 estimation for paper-making, as there is a good deal of waste from the 

 tough leaf-stalks, and it requires a considerable quantity of chemicals 

 to bleach it. In 1857 the export of leaves of the dwarf palm from 

 Algeria was to the value of 24,000 francs, crin vegetal, 763,000 francs. 

 The shipments of crin vegetal, which were only 19,000 lbs. in 1845, 

 reached 316.000 lbs. in 1853, were doubled two years later, quad- 

 rupled in the space of four years, and in 1860 amounted to nearly 

 2,500,000 lbs. In 1865 they had reached treble that amount. 

 44,000 cwts. of crin vegetal was shipped from Algeria in 1868, and 

 the value of the fibre prepared in that year in the colony is stated to 

 have been about 90,000Z. 



The following figures show the exports (always progressive) of 

 later years, in kilogrammes, besides a small quantity of rough leaves : 



Year. 



Crin Vegetal. 



Leaves. 



1869 

 1870 

 1871 

 1872 



4,835,630 

 3,851,282 

 4,252,789 

 9,011,919 



14,085 

 65,436 

 1,171,737 

 199,100 



The quantity of this vegetable hair sent to foreign countries in 

 1872 was 2,394,000 kilogrammes. The shipments, which were for- 

 merly limited to France, are now extending rapidly, demands having 

 sprung up in various countries, especially in England. 



