While the ((native° or emergency fibres, that are known, make a list of upward of 1,500 species, the commercial fibres of value to the world would hardly reach two score in num ber, and those that interest the United States scarcely half that number. Altogether, count ing the more unimportant forms, 25 to 30 species may be enumerated, the larger number of which figure as imported kinds, although they are imported in such small quantities and at such irregular intervals that they cut a small figure indeed. Eight species of imported fibres would include all of the really important kinds representing the material of the great textile industries. They are cotton, flax, hemp, jute, manila hemp, sisal hemp, Tampico and coir or coconut fibre. The fibres of lesser importance are China grass or ramie, raffia, Mauritius hemp, Sunn hemp, New Zealand flax, a few of the Mexican Agaves and Yuccas, Piassaba or Brazilian bass, broom root, Esparto, Crin vegetal, rattan and vegetable sponge. Straw plait (and its manufactures) are also imported in considerable quantities, and there is some bamboo, kittool and palmyra.
Of native fibres, commercially employed, we use in manufacture slough grass, Spanish moss, two species of Florida palmetto and the woods of several species of forest trees in basketry and wood pulp, besides straw and maize husks. Many native fibres are used by the North Amer ican Indian tribes, but as these are in no way commercial they are not included here. While the fibres of lesser importance are briefly re ferred to in this article, the references to the more important textile forms will be found alphabetically arranged under their common names, as cotton, flax, hemp, etc. Among spin ning fibres of lesser importance are ramie, or China grass, Mauritius and Sunn hemps and New Zealand flax.
Sunn hemp, Crotalaria juncea, is a legumi nous shrub which abounds in India and Aus tralia. Synonyms : Conkanee hemp, Indian hemp, Kenna and Madras hemp. A bast fibre which takes the place of jute in portions of India, though it is lighter in color and a better fibre, with a tensile strength v,hich adapts it for cordage; used for rope making in this country. In India is used for cordage, nets, sackcloth, twine and 50,000 acres hav ing been cultivated in northern provinces in a single year.
Mauritius hemp, Furcrira gigantea, is im ported from Africa, as its name implies; thrives in the West Indies and Central and South America. Introduced into India, Ceylon and Australia. The plant is closely allied to the Agaves (such as the sisal hemp plant), the fibre being derived from the leaves, which are four to seven feet long and four to six inches wide. A structural fibre, it is very similar to
sisal hemp though not quite as strong, and is used for the same purposes. The commercial supply is derived only from Saint Helena and Mauritius, where the plant is cultivated. In Venezuela the native supply of this fibre is made into bags, halters, horse blankets, fish nets and cordage, and is known as fique.
New Zealand Flax, Phormium tenax. A structural fibre derived from the leaves of a liliaceous plant, resembling the flag, native to New Zealand, but found in other portions of Australia. Distributed to the Azores, Saint Helena, Algiers, southern France and the Brit ish Isles. Thrives in California, where its leaves are used as tie material. Its many varieties produced in New Zealand yield fibre capable of manufacture into cloth of the tex ture of linen, satchels, table mats, sandals, sacks, rugs and mattings, threads and twines of superior strength, cordage and cables. An in ferior grade has been imported into the United States for the manufacture of binding twine. The staff used in the construction of exposition buildings is stiffened with a low grade of this fibre. At the present time 9,000 tons of the fibre is being imported annually, worth about $255 per ton.
Broom Root, Epicampes macroura. Also known as Mexican whisk and Rail de Zacaton. A fibre of a bright yellow color, wavy as though crimped, stiff and harsh, measuring from 10 to 15 inches in length. Is a substitute for Venetian whisk and is used in this country for clothing and velvet brushes, scrub and other household brushes, brooms, etc. The fibre is simply the cleaned roots of a grass which abounds in a wild state in southern Mexico. The roots of Chrysopogon gryllus are also solid under the name "broom root,* and are superior to the Epicampes product.
Piassava. Two species are represented in the commercial product known as "true piassava,* the Para fibre, Leopoldina piassaba, also known as monkey bass, and Attalea funifera, both derived from Brazilian palms. An African species, Raphia vinifera, known as West African bass, has been imported to a slight extent in late years. The Bass fibres, from these three species, are stiff and wiry, bright chocolate in color, and are used for very stiff household brushes and brooms, and for street sweeping machines. The fibre is obtained from the dilated bases of the leaf stalks, which separate into a long coarse fringe; this is col lected by the natives, sorted and tied in bundles, and haled for market.