102 
sheaths in use? (For further details as to methods of plait¬ 
ing, see O. T. Mason, Basketry in Smithsonian Rep. for 1884. 
For colours used in plaiting see No. XII.— Dyeing.) 
J. E. 
No. IX.—STRING. 
The art of making string from vegetable fibre has been 
known from a very early period, and was practised by the 
occupants of the Swiss Lake-dwellings at a time when cutting - 
instruments were formed of stone and not of metal. The use, 
however, of animal fibre for ligaments of various kinds pro¬ 
bably dates back to a much more remote period, as needles 
formed of bone have been found in caves of the first stone 
age, or what is known as the Palaeolithic period. String or 
twine composed of long fibres is usually twisted, but some¬ 
times also plaited.. Thread made of finer and generally 
shorter fibres is usually spun either by hand or by means of 
a wheel ; such spun thread is generally used for weaving. 
In some cases, split vegetable stems (such as rattan), strips of 
skin, or the intestines of animals, are employed for binding 
purposes without being twisted. The following questions are 
suggested :— 
i. What animal or vegetable substances are employed for 
the manufacture of rope, string, or thread ? 2. Are they 
subjected to any preparation before or after manufacture ? 
3. Are they used in strips or twisted, plaited or spun ? 4. To 
what purposes are each of the principal varieties applied, as, 
for instance, for binding, netting, making bow-strings or 
fishing-lines, plaiting into articles of clothing or for weaving ? 
(No.VII.) 5. In the case of animal fibres being used, what 
are the parts thus employed ? and how they are prepared ? 
6. Are the bands of these materials used wet, so as to tighten 
in drying? 7. In spinning thread for weaving, what process 
is employed ? 8. Are any domesticated animals kept for the 
purpose of supplying materials to be spun ? or are any plants 
