2l4 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. December 19. 
be kept from falling directly in opposition to the effects of 
gravity. The strain exerted by such a branch is enormous ; 
and yet the branch is maintained in its position for 
hundreds of years by the simple cohesive strength and 
tenacity of a series of woody fibres, each one-sixth smaller 
than a human hair, and too minute to be appreciated by the 
naked eye. It is probable that no mechanical agency at 
present in operation could effect that which is thus so 
readily effected by nature with the most simple agencies. 
“ 2ndly, Such as benefit man. 
“We do not refer to the almost infinite uses to which 
wood, in boards or masses, is applied by man, and the vast 
multitudes of beautiful objects which bis ingenuity has 
enabled him to prepare out of the varieties of wood which 
nature has so bountifully provided. 
“ Not less useful is the same woody fibre, when reduced 
to very minute bundles or threads. 
“ When the fibres are obtained in tolerably largo bundles 
they are used in place of bristles for street brooms, and 
especially when obtained from tlie Cocoa-nut Palm. 
“ The flax and hemp which are imported so largely into 
this country, consist of woody fibre, obtained not from the 
wood of large trees, but from the stems of slender plants. 
From this raw material, ropes, sacks, linen, lawn, and other 
textile fabrics, are now made, as some of them have ever 
been by all nations. Uncivilized, or partially civilized 
nations, have been accustomed to use the bark of various 
.trees offering this wood in a very divided condition; and 
from this have prepared ropes and other articles of utility. 
It has long been known that cordage of a very strong kind 
was used by the ancient Egyptians, anterior, in all proba¬ 
bility, to the building of the Pyramids; and Mr. Layard has 
recently exhumed sculptures which show that the yet more 
ancient Assyrians removed their gigantic winged bulls and 
other objects by cables of great size and strength. 
“ The bark of the lace-tree ( Lagella lintearia ) yields a 
net-work of woody fibre of exquisite beauty, and of great 
utility, and is used by the natives of that clime as a ready 
prepared fabric. 
“ An indisputable proof of the antiquity attaching to the 
use of lliis fibre is afforded in the fact, that the mummy 
cloths of the ancient Egyptians, which are nearly five : 
thousand years old, are found to be composed of this ! 
material. 
“At the present day, this tissue is abundanlly used, and | 
is derived from very various sources. Its relative value ! 
depends upon the fineness and evenness of the fibre, ; 
and upon its elasticity. It lias been found that certain 
kinds of flax have very great powers of resistance when 
exerted in a straight line, but readily break when they are 
bent. This is the case with the New Zealand flax; and its 
brittleness is to be attributed only to the nature of the 
material deposited within the tube. The flax obtained in 
this country, in Ireland, and India, from the Cannabis, 
lias less resisting characters; but as it does not break so 
much in the process of hackling, has a higher marketable 
value. The Pine-Apple fibre is very capable of minute 
subdivision, and is very resisting, and consequently very 
lifted for the manufacture of fine fabrics. Cocoa-nut-palm 
fibre is also very strong from the presence of secondary 
deposits. 
“ The cost of flax has induced mercantile men to use 
woody fibre of less durability, but at the same time of a less 
costly kind—such as that derived from the China-grass, a 
species of Nettle (Urtica); and from it much of the less 
durable linen clotli and pocket-handkerchiefs are now pro¬ 
duced. It is well known that the tissue now under 
consideration occupies a medium between silk and cotton, 
as it regards resistance, durability, and cost. 
“ Silk is the produce of a member of the animal kingdom, 
and occupies the highest position in the qualities referred to. 
Labillardiere ascertained that bundles of fibres of equal size, 
of silk, flax, and cotton, gave the following unequal powers 
of resistance, on the application of a weight:— 
“ Silk supported, without breaking, a weight of 3-ilbs. 
“ New Zealand flax (Phormiitm tunax) . .23^- 
“ Hemp (Cannabis) .iqi 
“ Flax ( Linum ). 11 | 
“ Pita-flax {Agave Americana) , . .7 
“The resisting powers of cotton are much below the lowest 
now indicated. 
“ In order the better to appreciate the characters of these : 
textile materials, single fibres of each have been selected, j 
and placed side by side, and to these have been added hairs, 
or fibres of wool, and silk. These have not only been used 
largely for centuries in the manufacture of woollen cloths, 
but the former is found woven with cotton in mummy cloths 
obtained from Otahcile. 
AGAVE AMERICANA, OR FLAX PLANT. 
“ The last use to which we shall now refer, is that of 
affording saccharine juices to man. This is known familiarly 
in this country in the wine obtained from the fermented 
juice of the Birch-tree (ISeinUialba). It is still better known in 
the Northern and Western Stales of America, and in Canada, 
from the sugar-yielding Maple {Acer saccharin am). This is 
still a greatly valued product in tlie less accessible parts of 
the country; but the introduction of the cane-sugar of the 
Southern States is gradually supplanting it in public estima¬ 
tion. The sugar obtained from it is very brown, but sweetens 
well, and will probably be one of the treasures of the happy 
housewife, in the fertile paradise of the “ far west,” for many 
years to come. In both of the above instances the juice is 
collected in a similar way—viz., by boring one or more holes 
into the stem of the tree at the period of the year when the 
sap has most accumulated; and, as the sap exudes, collect¬ 
ing it in vessels placed at the foot of the tree. The sugar is 
thence obtained by mere evaporation and subsidence; but 
the wine requires the subsequent process of saccharine 
fermentation. 
“ Tlie spruce-beer in use in Norway, and the refreshing 
juices of India, are obtained in a similar way, and from the 
same vessels— viz., woody and pitted tissues. 
“ Palm-wine is a. delicious beverage, obtained from various 
species of Palm, but especially from the Cocoa-nut Palm 
(Cocos nucifera), the Gomuto Palm (Sagncrus saccharij'cr ), 
and the magnificent Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabellifurmis). 
The latter is the most widely distributed of all the Palm 
tribe, since it inhabits all the various regions of tlie Con¬ 
tinent and Islands of India. Mr. Fergusson, in the first 
illustrated book which proceeded from Ceylon, lias given a 
most valuable account of the Palm-trees of Ceylon. We 
counsel our readers to peruse it attentively, and especially 
that portion which describes the Palmyra Talm, and its 
products. The juice is procured by crushing the young 
