Sept. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 
THE FIBRES OP COMMERCE. 91 
succulent huge stem, which attains an elevation of from eight to fifteen 
feet, with a diameter of stalk from one foot to two feet. The stem is 
formed partly from the united petioles of the leaves ; and they contain 
such a quantity of spiral vessels, that they are capable of being pulled 
out by handfuls. 
The Musa textilis, unlike the cultivated species of plantain, which 
can only be propagated by suckers, is easily raised from seed. 
Finlayson (" Journal of a Mission to Siam ") tells us that unlike the 
luscious and delicious fruit raised by the hand of man, the fruit of the 
wild plantain contains scarcely any pulp whatever. Its leathery sheath 
incloses numerous series ol large black seeds, attached to a pithy central 
stem, and immersed in a gummy substance resembling bird-lime. The 
seeds of the plantain having been but rarely seen by botanists, doubts 
have been expressed on the subject. In none of the cultivated varieties 
are there any seeds discoverable ; though at times we may observe 
minute black points in the pulp disposed in longitudinal rows. These 
are probably the feeble traces of seeds, not yet quite extinguished by 
cultivation, the black peris perm being the last to disappear. In the 
wild plantain che seeds are numerous, covered with a thick, black, brittle 
shell, and as large as those of the custard apple (Ano)ia reticulata), but 
of a more singular shape. 
About fourteen years ago, a patent was taken out in the United 
States, for the manufacture of paper from plantain fibre, and a good, 
strong, fine wrapping paper was made from it. 
Some years ago a Colonial Fibre Company was incorporated by 
charter in London, for the cultivation and purchase of fibrous plants in 
Jamaica and British Guiana, for obtaining from them the valuable fibres 
which they contain, and for converting the same into marketable pro- 
ducts. Owing, however, to difficulties on the question of the patent 
rights for new machinery, or failing in obtaining the necessary capital, 
the company broke down. 
The younger steins of the plantain, and the inner heart^leaves of the 
Agave, furnish strong filaments of a silky character, which are naturally 
of a silvery whiteness, and which may be dyed of any colour, retain- 
ing their lustre and brilliancy ; deprived also of their gummy or 
resinous matter, and split or carded by the ordinary processes, they may 
be extensively adapted to many of the wants now supplied by flax and 
cotton. They are used at the present time for weaving' into light 
fabrics, and also for damasks, the finer sort of furniture-hangings and 
upholstery, &c, generally. 
The weight of a plantain stem will sometimes be 70 or 80lbs., of 
which 50 per cent, will be water. It is, therefore, too expensive to cart 
the stems to any considerable distance for preparation, and, in the 
colonies, machinery would require to be erected contiguous to the pro- 
vision grounds, or "plantain walks," as they are termed. 
It is extremely desirable to know the quantity of fibre that can be 
