Artocarpus sp. A. integrifolia and A. incisa, in the E. Indies, New Zealand, Polynesia, and New Guinea, afford useful fibre, much employed by the natives under the name of ti.
Arundo ; reed, 8-12 ft. Native of India, most luxuriant in Bengal. The split stalks form the durma mats of Calcutta ; in Scinde, they are beaten, to yield a fibre, called moonyah, used for making ropes and twine.
A. grand autumnal flowering reed. Grows in Uruguay, Paraguay, and La Plata, and has been recommended for culture in Victoria. Its leaves yield a fibre useful for paper-making. Probably identical with Gynerium argenteum.
A. saccharoides, in Venezuela, furnishes the fibre for the sombrero hats of the peasants.
Aselepias A native of Syria, and cultivated as far north as Upper Silesia ; abundant also in the United States, Canada, and por tions of S. America, notably the Argentine Republic. It is easily propagated both from seeds and from root divisions; it thrives luxuriantly in light soil, and will grow on any poor land. The seeds are covered with a silky down, 1-2 in. long ; this, when removed, is capable of several useful applica tions. In America, the fibres are used principally for stuffing beds, 8re., and for bat-making. In Russia and France, textile fabrics are produced from them, and the French firm of Pueeh Freres has recently introduced a new style of woollen cloth, termed " silver cloth," made by an admixture of 20 per cent. of Phis down with 80 per cent. of wool. The fibre may be advantageously used also in felts. The bast fibres of the stem of the plant, prepared like flax or hemp, yield a long fine thread, of glossy whiteness.
The similar seed down furnished by A. ourassavica, and A. volubilis, both natives of the W. Indies, is locally used for stuffing purposes. A. asthmatics and A. spinosa also yield textile fibres.
Astelia sp. A. Banksii and A. Cunninghamii, in New Zealand, furnish leaves respectively 4 ft. and 4 ft. 9 in. long, from which, long and fine fibres are extracted by retting.
Astrocaryum acaule.—Endogen ; palm, trunkless leaves, 8-10 ft. high. Grows in the dry Catinga forests of the Upper Rio Negro, Brazil. The rind of the leaf-stalks is used by the Indians for making baskets.
A. 40-50 ft. Found growing on the dry forest land of the Amazon and Rio Negro, and is carefully cultivated by the Indians where it is not met with in a wild state. The unopened leaves furnish a fibre, which is extracted and prepared in the same way as that of Mauritia flexuosa, and is superior in fineness, strength, and durability. The thread is used chiefly for bow-strings and fishing-nets ; in places where Mauritia fleocuosa does not grow, it is employed also for hammocks, which fetch a high figure in Rio Janeiro. Betting the leaves has been tried, and failed, because decay ensues in less than a week. Practised hands can extract only about 2 oz. fibre per diem by the native method.
Attalea ; tree, 30-40 ft. This palm grows in forests in the Brazilian province of Bahia, extending southwards to the Rio Pardo, and perhaps beyond that river. It is utilized chiefly in and near Commendatabalu, Una, Ilheos, Porto Segura, Marahu, Rio de Contas, Santa Cruz, Cazane, Tapiroa, Cannavieros, and Itaparicu. It is not found far inland. The trees grow wild, being propagated by nuts, which are the food of birds and monkeys, and thus get widely spread. No care or expense in cultivation is attempted. The trunk is bare for three-fourths of its height, when the foliage commences. The unopened leaves are enveloped at the base in coarse chocolate-coloured fibres, which constitute a portion of the Piassava fibre of commerce. They are removed from the leaves by the natives, who use a small axe for the purpose. Only young trees are selected, so as to secure the freshest fibre ; the taller trees are neglected. The severed fibres are gathered from the ground, taken home to be roughly hackled, straightened, and cleaned, and are then handed over to native packers, who use the most primitive contrivances for pressing it into bundles, of about 1 arroba (32 lb.). The packing sheds are always on a river, for convenience of shipment. At the port of Bahia, the fibre is sold in bales weighing 80-100 lb. The exports from Bahia to foreign countries, in 1878-9, amounted to 126,000 cwt.