The above remarks are applicable to the clean ing of nearly all plants. Some special observa tions regarding particular classes may be given.
The l'alms--Cocoanut Coir. —The coir fibre from the husk of the ripe cocoanut is greatly improved in quality and appearance by beating, washing, and soaking. The old method of steeping in salt water for eighteen months or two years is quite unnecessary, and produces a harsher and dirtier coir. The tannin which this substance contains prevents the fibre from rotting ; but most of the cuir of commerce is a dusty, harsh produce, while cle.an, and samples are suited to a superior class of manufactures, as fine mats and fundture brushes. Palm leaves are employed for thatching and makin,g fans ; they do not undergo any preparation. Leaf-stalks of the pahns are harsh stiff, and brittle, but if beaten and washed they Lecorne softer and whiter ; if carefully split and drawn like wire through perforated steel plates, a neat, clean, and durable ba.sket work might bo made from them.
Leaves of the Screw Pine make good matting. Some neat kinds of basket-work have been made from this substance ; it has also been tried for paper, and yields it of good quality, light and strong. Experiments are required to separate the green parts of the pulp from the white short fibre.
Rushes, Grasses, and Sedges.—It is uncertain whether differences depend upon the treatment of the grass and the modes of splitting it, or on the different qualities of the plants employed. The Palghat and Cochin mats have long been considered the finest in the south of India.
Liliaceous Plants include the different varieties of aloe, agave, yucca, fourcroya, and sansevient. They are all hardy, require but little care for their cultivation, aro comp.aratively easily cleaned, and yield good white fibres of considerable length. There are large exports of aloe fibre from the western coast, and the cultivation of these plants might easily be extended in India (see Report in Records of Military Board on Aloe Ropes supplied to the Arsenal from the years 1797 till 1805). The aloe fibre contains a thick, viscid, milky juice, which can only be removed by hard beating or crushing. It is probable that this juice gives the aloe fibre its tendency to rot when much exposed to moisture.
Jute.—Corchorus capsularis C. olitorius, aud Hibiscus cannabinus, are all 'three indifferently grown and sold as jute. The whole of the recorded evidence of Bengal jute growers, brokers, tuul merchants may be summed up in the following sentences :—Jute cultivation Is easier and more profitable than rice. The Bogi, Corchorus cap sularis, is generally preferred to the Desi, Cor chorus olitorius, and to the lests, Hibiscus cannabinus. The latter is, however, pronounced to be of good gloss and colour, though coarse, but to be exported as true jute. The fibre from the plants cut just when in flower is fine, glossy, and separates quickly from the bark. It is heavier, coarser, and discoloured, and requires more steep ing when they are left standing till the seed is formed. The dearer the water in which the stalks are steeped, the finer the fibre. it is weakened, and the colour spoiled, if immersion is incomplete, or if less than 2i to 3 feet of water is used ; if over-steeping is permitted, or if it is dried in damp, cloudy weather. Under-steeping makes it woody. Stagnant water rots the bark soonest, but at the expense of the fibre ; running water does not rot it quickly enough ; and slack water in any running stream is best of all. The plants thrive best in good medium loam. Weeding is necessary ; if the land is properly manured, it can be cropped with it. year after year.
1?heea.—The difficulties met with in cleaning the rheea fibre induced the British Indian Government to offer a reward for a suitable machine ; but Lord Mayo's efforts in this direction did not meet with the success that was anticipated, for of the 32 machines tendered in August 1872, only one, by Mr. Greig of Edinburgh, was submitted for trial, and though found to be unequal to the allotted task, the Government awarded a sum of £150 to the inventor as compensation for the trouble and expense he had incurred, and in consideration of some points of excellence in the design. Its costliness, the establishment needed to super intend its working, and the power required to drive it, were prohibitive. The cost of clearing a ton of fibre by Mr. Greig's machine was put down at Rs. 138-2.