VEGETABLE EIBllES AVAILABLE FOB TEXTILE FABRICS. 
81 
by the particular green colour of the leaves, and the Cascarilleros find out the trees by 
ascending lofty trees or hills, and paying attention to this fact, otherwise the under¬ 
growth of these immense virgin forests would render it impossible to find them. I, with 
others to assist me, have been half a day cutting a way to one of these clumps. The 
climate is everywhere intensely hot and moist, and the fevers deadly, especially in the 
rainy season ; the mortality, as may be expected, very great. All the rivers abound in 
gold; I believe as rich as California. A friend of mine, Don Laurento Villamel, took 
1200 oz, of gold (234 carat) out of about an area of 30 feet square on the river bed. 
“I always was in excellent health, which I attribute to being always at work on foot, 
hunting, or pounding the rocks with a hammer. Still I often took three grains of sul¬ 
phate of quinine in the morning .—David Forbes.” [We learn from Mr, Howard, the 
eminent quinologist, that a plant reared from one of the seeds above alluded to proves 
to be a new and probably valuable kind of Calisaya—the “ verde,” of which an account 
w’as given in Mr. Howard’s important communication on the Cinchona barks read at the 
recent Botanical Congress.* Eds.] — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
AN INQUIKY INTO VEGETABLE FIBEES AVAILABLE FOR 
TEXTILE FABEICS. 
BY H, SHERWOOD. 
During many years past a considerable number of fibres easily obtainable have been 
brought into notice, some of which appear to possess peculiar excellences; but, though 
recently the market value of the creat staples of manufacture has been and still con¬ 
tinues high, and thus every inducement has been offered to bring into use some of those 
fibres, yet the advance towards this end has been but small,—cotton cloths and linen 
cloths remaining substantially the only vegetable fabrics possessed by us. Still, the 
public mind has been awake to the importance *of the subject; and many attempts 
have been made, chiefly towards an end laid down as the great necessity of the times, 
viz. the bringing of a fibre into the market in a state suitable to be worked on cotton 
machinery, and to fulfil all the peculiar uses of cotton. The object of these notes is to 
inquire how far a just view of the general subject prevails,—how far the endeavours to¬ 
wards utilizing new fibres have been reasonable, and to seek light on the manner of their 
suitable treatment. 
Of all fibres doubtless cotton is one of the most desirable. The evenness of thick¬ 
ness, the length, strength, and softness of each fibre, together with its flattened spiral 
form, adapting it so admirably for spinning into high count yarns, will cause it ever 
to retain its prominence for an immense class of fabrics. Little also is left to be desired 
in the perfection of its manufacture. Bat the day was when cotton was unknown in 
Europe; and in like manner, as cotton has found its specially suitable uses, so doubtless 
other fibres will be found to have theirs,—uses which are now usurped by the less suitable 
staples of flax and cotton. 
Flax and its kindred fibres do not appear to have advanced very much in perfection of 
manufacture even from middle ages. Evenness of yarn appears the chief aim in most 
proposed improvements in flax, which cannot be expected to be fully attained from 
fibrous material used with masses of cells agglutinated together, and consequently liable 
to une'^enness. Hemp might probably with great advantage have its uses considerably 
extended by improved states in which to use it. Jute is probably used to its full capa¬ 
bilities, and certainly further than the public approve of. 
Beyond these staples the utilization of other fibres appears almost confined to semi- 
civilized nations consuming local products. Their manner of using these, though some 
are probably worthy of consideration even by manufacturing Europe, are beyond the 
subject of this inquiry. The few which Europe has attempted appear to have been in¬ 
tended chiefly for mixing with other fibres now' in use. But is it not doubtful whether 
this design in their use may not be in the main defective? Each fibre has its owir spe¬ 
ciality, which may be a peculiar excellence or a peculiar beauty, and many may pro¬ 
duce cloths as totally different from cloth or linen as these differ from each other. Is it 
not also doubtful whether the imperative necessity for fibres to be workable on cotton 
* See ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal ’ for July, p. 14.— Ed. Ph. J. 
VOL. VIII. 
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