1910 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
620 
Ruralisms 
The Tree-Lace of Tropical America. 
—Few of the many marvels of the tropi¬ 
cal forests of Latin America can surpass 
the ready-woven natural-silk lace-bearing 
trees of the upper Amazon and the for¬ 
ests of the sierras of interior Peru. In 
fact, the lace-yielding trees may be con¬ 
sidered the very highest examples of 
nature's inimitable masterpieces. To 
think that nature could weave unaided— 
as if by the handiwork of the most de¬ 
voted human energy and the most intri¬ 
cate mechanisms combined,—material for 
chastely-beautiful bridal-veils, commu¬ 
nion gowns or nuns’ veilings, entirely 
surpasses belief. The aforementioned 
articles, and many others, like mantillas, 
kerchiefs, the lightest zephyr wraps, mos¬ 
quito bars, curtains, even portieres—are 
made with scarcely any labor other than 
going into the forests, lopping off a few 
branches of the bira-^bira, the lageta, and 
a couple of other lace-yielding trees; 
ripping off the outer bark, and unfolding 
the coiled lace-fiber which lies within! 
Of course in a ramble through the for¬ 
ests. you see no external evidences of 
silk-lace growing within the trees. The 
lace-yielding trees look like any other 
trees, in their protective bark-coverings 
and luxuriant foliage. But the sehoritas 
of the tropical American forests, when 
needing bridal-veils, mantillas or com¬ 
munion veils, can quickly locate the lace 
silk-fabric of the Ganges, so called in al¬ 
lusion to its irregular hand-loom weave 
resembling somewhat the wind-driven 
effects of snow on fields—a singularly- 
beautiful optical illusion; the leather- 
cloth woven by nature and obtained in 
big portiere-like sheets from the bark of 
the Brusonetia papyrifera, the pith cloth 
(far lighter than cork) of Indasia; and 
about half-a-dozen others. The thistle¬ 
down silk sheeting is made from the 
same pappus, or down, you see floating 
about your fields, only of longer fiber, 
enabling it to be spun. It is of refined 
luster, and maintains its dazzling snow- 
whiteness to the end, without needing 
blueing or bleaching after washing—the 
only known fabric in the world which 
will do this. 
Fibers of the Sea.— The woven sea¬ 
weed clothing of Scandinavia is claimed 
to be so processed In its fiber make-up 
as to be inpermeable, which is strange, 
with the notorious humidity-affinity of 
sea-weed. Sea-weed matting represents 
the lowest form or order in the fiber 
world. Now we will take a jump to the 
highest and the most beautiful fiber- 
product of the sea. This is the glass- 
sponge (uplektela) of warm seas like the 
Indian Ocean. The glass-sponges (some¬ 
times called sea-silk sponges) are all 
allied to the homely sponges in use in 
our bath-tubs, but the glass-sponge is 
raked up for crushing for its silky fiber, 
which runs the entire length of the 
cornucopia-shaped growth. It attains a 
LACE-GROWING TREE OF THE TROPICS. Fig. 259. 
trees; and a few wdiirls of the pocket-ax 
or machete brings down enough branches 
for an abundant supply. Ripping off the 
bark, the lace is found inside. It is of a 
delicate creamy-white beautiful in itself 
to behold, and of an agreeable odor 
slightly resembling freshly sun-dried 
cornstalks or straw when opened out. 
Unwound into sheet form, and placed in 
the sun to bleach, it acquires a dazzling 
snow-whiteness, with a silk-like gloss 
which will resist all attempts of the 
“wash” to efface. It is washable, but, as 
with washing valuable lace, considerable 
care must be exercised, or the material, 
once its fibers are completely water- 
soaked,, is liable to tear. A small piece 
of the bark, illustrating how the layers 
of lace are removed, is shown at Fig. 259. 
Large sheets of this material, about 40 
inches square, may be had, and half a 
dozen of them suffice for a senorita to 
make herself a chastely-beautiful bridal- 
veil or communion vesting. And an al¬ 
most entrancing effect it has on the 
traveler, to see that snow-white, gossa¬ 
mer-like. nature-woven silk-lace drapery, 
with the peculiarly soft-eyed brunette 
of Spanish-America as a background. 
Nature-woven lace-yielding trees are 
not confined to tropical America. There 
are species in Oceanica among the Aus¬ 
tralian silva, in Indasia, and in the his¬ 
toric Tigris-Euphrates valleys. These na¬ 
ture-grown lace-cloths are unobtainable 
in commerce. 
Other Fabric Marvels.—A few other 
unique fiber-fabrics of the globe are the 
thistledown-silk of the orient; the costly 
pina_(pineapple-fiber cloth) of the Pacific 
tropics; the woven-snow, feather-weight 
length of about 40 inches, yielding 
lengthy fibers suitable for weaving chem¬ 
ical and filter-cloths down to (according 
to the strands in the yarn) zephvr-like 
gauze fabrics for neck wraps, head-veil¬ 
ings, and fire-resisting chintz curtains. 
Stone Silk. —Some j r ears ago, the 
government of France—(a country 
which has always been in the lead in 
aeronautics)—seeking a fireproof mate¬ 
rial for balloons and airships, turned its 
attention to the little-known krocidolit, 
or stone-silk, of Griqualand, West Africa. 
It is mined from quarries like many an¬ 
other mineral. The rocks are crushed, 
the fibers separated, spun and woven. In 
fabric form, the stone-silk has scarcely 
any luster, like a good many of the 
common canvas-looking vet entirely pure 
silk-weaves of the Ganges region, but it 
retains its natural bluish-gray coloring 
under all conditions except intense fur¬ 
nace heat, which changes it to a dingy 
white, and makes it somewhat brittle. 
It proved a total failure as a substitute 
for animal silk for aerial craft, because 
it could never be made light enough, and 
it always felt damp with the retained 
moisture, even in dry weather. But the 
manufacture, once started, has prospered 
in France, although unknown in this 
country. There are to-day a score of 
stone-silk factories in Gaul. It is used 
for filter-cloths, for belting in chemical 
factories; for boiler-lagging, or insula¬ 
tion, theater curtains, portieres, table- 
mats, firemen’s uniforms and gloves, etc., 
while the shorter-fiber stone-silk wool, 
not long enough to spin, is stuffed into 
fireproof cushions and bedding. 
l. lodian. 
You Use 'g 
\t Paris Green - M 
4 Here’s the Brand to Buy. II 
| It’s Absolutely Pure mi 
|P| HERRMAN’S 1910 ALMANAC SENT FREE 
“Dead bugs are the only 
safe bugs." 
The quickest and surest 
death to potato bugs, 
tobacco worms and all 
insects and worms. 
HESANUK 
HI-GRADE PURE PARIS GREEN 
*93.20 MORE 
PROfl 
HIIRST POTATO 
|l w SPRAYERS 
That’s what the New York Experiment Station 
reports as a 10 year average Gain by Spraying 
potatoes. (233 bu. at 40c. per bu.) Don’t let blight, 
scab rot, and bugs cut your crop In half— but get 
a IICRsT Sprayer and make illg Money out of 
your Potatoes or fruit. Spray first, then, if you 
buy Pay Us Out of the “Ext ra Profit.” These 
sprayers SPRAY ANYTHIN!*, potatoes, orch¬ 
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‘Man-power and Horse-power.” Powerful pres¬ 
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Brass valves, plunger, strainer, etc. Guaranteed 
for 6 Years, 
Shipped on Free Trial 
without a cent in advance. No bank deposit, “no 
strings” to our trial offer. Wholesale prices. 
We pay Freight. Write us a letter or card and 
tell us which machine you are interested in, and 
you’ll get free our valu¬ 
able Spraying Guide — 
Catalog—and our special 
Free Offer to First in 
each locality this season. 
Be First to write us. 
H. L. HURST MFG. CO.. 
289 North Street. Canton, Ohio. 
I 
I 
(I 
! 
i 
, But It is harmless lo the tenderest 
plants, when properly applied, be¬ 
cause it contains practically no 
water soluble arsenious acid. 
Guaranteed to meet all the require¬ 
ments of various State Agricultural 
Colleges. 
Put up in 14 lb. to 56 lb. pack¬ 
ages, also kegs and barrels —net 
weight. Sent direct ifyour dealer 
cannot supply you. It Is easy 
for him to get It and he will if 
you insist. Write for 
HERRMANN’S 1910 ALMANAC 
It tells the proper way to spray 
for insect pests with Paris Greta. 
MORRIS HERRMANN & CO. 
68 N william St. New York 
SPRAY 
fruits and field crops Ma 
with best effect — least ex¬ 
pense—less time, for big¬ 
gest profits. No other 
sprayers as good as 
Brown’s Hand and Power 
AUTO¬ 
SPRAYS 
i __ 40 styles, siz es and 
and valuable spraying guide in our 
book, sent free lor name on postal. 
Choose any auto-spray—it is guar* 
anteed to satisfy you completely. 
Used by the U. S. Government and 
State Experiment Stations 
and 800,000 others. Auto-Spray No. 1—ideal outfit 
for 5 acres of potatoes or 1 acre of trees. Auto-j 
Spray No. 11 best for lartrer operations. Wo h*T*| 
Auto-Sprays for largest orchards and fields. Wrl|®| 
Bow for valuable book. 
THE E. C. BROWN COMPANY 
28 St., Rochester, N. Y - . 
rice* 
1910 DEYO POWER SPRAYERS 
IT PATS TO SPRAY 
The Iron Age 4-row Sprayer gives 
perfect satisfaction. Puts solution.' 
fust where needed and in fog-like 
mist. Pump delivers spray undefl 
high pressure, thus reselling every, 
part of vine, effectually killing bug* 
and preventing blight. Haa 
Orchard Spraying attach*^ 
ment. Write for free 
catalog illustrate 
i:ig this and 
other Iron 
Age tools. 
Nozzle Strainer 
Prevents CloRgrlng 
BATEMAN MFG. CO.. Box 102-S. 
GRENLOCH, N. J. 
MR. FRUIT GROWER, we have the two plunger 
spray pump you have been looking for connected to 
our I ki and 3 H. P. air-cooled engine. Eight years of 
success. If you do not know us, ask any of the thou¬ 
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Outfits fully guaranteed. Write for catalogue 19. 
R. H. DEYO & CO, Binghamton,N.Y. 
OUR NEW TRADE-MARK 
TRADE-MARK 
WHEELSr FREIGHT PAID $8.7S 
for < Buggy Wheel*, Steel Tires. With Rubber Tires, $15.20. I 
mfg. wheels# to 4 in. tread. Buggy Tops $6.60, Shafts $2.00. T«f 
Batiks ill, Harness,$5. Leara haw t# bay direct- Cjulofue Prce. Repair 
Wheels, |6.6 0. W agon Umbrella fr ee, w R BOOB. Ctadaaail, 0. 
Solely Manufactured by 
THE ROGERS & HUBBARD i 
Middletown, Conn. 
Send for Free Almanac telling all about 
Hubbard “Bone Base** Fertilizers 
_ A SUBSTITUTE 
For Bordeaux Mixture 
10-gal. keg making 1.500 gals. Spray; delivered at 
any R. R. station in the United States for $1 a.ftt). 
Prompt shipments. Write to-day for fullinformatiou. 
B. G. PRATT CO,“h£3E« 
- 50 CHURCH ST., NEW YORK CITY 
INOCULATED ALFALFA SOIL 
75c. per hundred pounds. S10.00 per ton. F.O.B. Cars. 
Send for free booklet “ How to Grow Alfalfa.” 
DR. H. SOMERVILLE, 
Chest Springs Cambria Co., Fa. 
LET ME START YOU IN BUSINESS! 
I will furnish the advertising matter and the plans. 1 
want one sincere, earnest man in every town and town¬ 
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Anyone anxious to improve his condition. Address 
COMMERCIAL DEMOCRACY, Dept. 0-35, Elyria, Ohio. 
s KEY ARSENATE Of LEAD - - - - 16 % Arsenic 
P (bSTdi l BORDO-LEAD - Kills the Bugs, Prevents Blight, etc. 
THE HIGHEST GRADE SPRAYING MATERIALS AT RIGHT PRICE 
gVz We will ship, f.o.b. Jersey City, one fi-pound and two 1-pound friction top cans, packed in a neat 
wood box > for $1.00, assorted, either Arsenate of Lead or Bordo-Lead 
A WRITE FOR CIRCULARS—IT WILL PAY YOU TO USE THESE SPRAYS 
LIVE RESPONSIBLE AGENTS WANTED 
Y INTERSTATE CHEMICAL COMPANY 
