184 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



fully clothed with this vegetable silk^ which in beauty is no 

 mean rival to that produced by the silkworm. It resem- 

 bles the unravelled fibres of rich orange-brown satin. A 

 very small sample is in the Liverpool collection of Imports. 



It is impossible to overrate the importance of the sub- 

 stances comprised in this division ; for although our first 

 parents^ upon their expulsion from Paradise^ were clothed 

 by God in dresses made of the skins of beasts^ and the 

 most savage tribes have alw^ays followed their example^ 

 nevertheless, as civilization has advanced^ the art of weaving 

 has become absolutely necessary to economize the limited 

 resources of the animal kingdom, which, with the present 

 population of the world, would be insufficient to farnish 

 raiment for a fiftieth part of our race. Besides this, miles 

 of canvas are spread upoi^ the ocean, and thousands of 

 miles of cordage are required to enable our vessels to navi- 

 gate the w^aters of the globe. Vegetable fibres clothe mil- 

 lions of the great human family; vegetable fibres assist in 

 wafting the commerce of the world from port to port, and 

 carry along the floating batteries and castles which are the 

 safeguard of our sea-girt isle. Vegetable fibres form shel- 

 tering tents for the armies of nearly all nations ; and they 

 furnish the means to industrious hands of earning the 



