Fibres. 



44 



Mr. G. W- Strettell (New Source of Revenue to India) advocates the value of 

 this plant as a paper material. It may thus be fittingly concluded that, were it 

 found possible to utilize the gutta as an additional source of revenue, the fibre, 

 either for textile purposes or paper-making, might, in spite of all that has been said 

 to the contrary, prove worthy of special consideration-— (The Agri. Ledger, 

 No. 2 of 1899.) 



FLOSS. 



The coma of hairs or floss from the seeds constitutes one of the so-called vege- 

 table silks or silk-cottons. This was chemically examined by Mr. Cross (see The Agri- 

 cultural Ledger, No. 17 of 1897, p. 3) and found to possess an abnormally high percentage 

 of furfurol. It was further believed to give evidence of being unsuited for some of 

 the purposes of the textile industries. In practical experiments it has been found 

 that the staple was too short and too light tor existing machinery, the latter pro- 

 perty allowing the fibre to be blown away. It is, however, a soft, very white floss, 

 with a beautiful silky gloss, has been repeatedly spun experimentally in Europe, and 

 the textile produced much admired. Reporting on a sample of the floss submitted to 

 him by the Imperial Institute, in 1897, Mr. C. E. Collyer observed that some years 

 previously the floss had been in demand for fancy textile purposes, but that it had 

 dropped out of use owing to the difficulties arising from variation in the quality of 

 the parcels sent and the intermittency of the supply when requirements arose. He 

 thought that the trade might be revived if a moderate but continuous supply could 

 be guaranteed. Good quality floss might realise 4d. to 5cZ. per lb. The pods and 

 seeds should be removed but the floss left in its natural condition, unopened and 

 discoloured portions removed. Notwithstanding all this, no progress has been made 

 in the utilization of the fibre. In India it is largely employed for stuffing quilts, its 

 lightness being of great advantage, and in upholstery it holds a recognised position, 

 since pillows and cushions stuffed with it are held to be very cool and refreshing. It 

 is also, to some extent, regularly spun and made into fishing lines and nets. 



Such then is all that can be said of the utilization of this floss at the present 

 day. But there would appear to be little doubt that a few centuries ago this fibre 

 was regularly spun and woven into some of the most beautiful textiles for which 

 India was then famed. Human labour was of much less value than at the present 

 time. Modern advances, coupled with the import of cheap European goods, seem to 

 have destroyed the old industry. It would appear fairly certain that the madar 

 floss was the "grass," the ''cloth of herbes," " herba," &e., of early European 

 travellers and traders in Bengal, more especially Orissa. Further, that the traffic 

 they allude to gave to the English language the expression " Grass-cloth," which 

 later on became associated with a textile derived from China. Thus Caesar 

 Frederike (1563-7) speaks of ''Cloth of herbes,"— " a kind of silke which groweth 

 amongst the woodes without any labour of man. And when the bole thereof is 

 growen round as bigge as an orenge then they take care onely to gather them." 

 Rhea never could have been found as a wild plant in Orissa, and the allusion to the 

 " bole " or fruit, from which the fibre was obtained, precludes rhea f rom consider- 

 ation altogether. The passage most unquestionably denotes Calotropis gigantea. 

 This view is confirmed by Fitch (1585) who gave an account of his exploration of the 

 Ganges, including Orissa (Orixa as he calls it) Avhere there was " great store of the 

 cloth which is made from the Grasse which they call yerua." That vernacular name 

 is clearly a form of the word that denotes Calotropis throughout Orissa and the 

 Canartic to this day. Doubtless, also, Liuschoten's " Herbe Bengalen " was the same 

 textile. I have purposely made reference to Linschoten, under Boehmeria 

 nivea, because all modern writers, whom I have been able to consult, quote the 

 above passages, and several others to the same effect under Rhea, in plase of Calo- 

 tropis, to Avhich they* most undoubtedly belong. Coming to more recent dates, 



