Samples of the fibre, exposed for 2 hours to steam at 2 atmos., followed by boiling in water for 3 hours, and again steamed for 4 hours, lost 21 19 per cent. by weight, being about 3 times as great a loss as that suffered by hemp, Manila hemp, phormium, or coir. This indicates the com parative worthlessness of the fibre for ropes. Slips of sized paper, weighing 39 gr., made from this fibre, bore 60 lb., as against Bank of England note pnlp, 47 lb. The pulp washes and works satis factorily, making a firm paper that bears ink well. The "outtings" and " rejections " seem well suited to the requirements of the paper-maker. Jute is most largely consumed in the manufacture of sacking, known as " gunnies "; also in a minor degree in mixed textiles; the preparation of these will be treated of in a separate article—Jute Manufactures.
Statistics and Prices.—The exports of raw jute from British India, in owls., were as follows :— In 1874, 6,127,279 ; 1875, 5,493,957 ; 1876, 5,206,570; 1877, 4,533,255; 1878, 5,450,276. The average yearly shipment from Caloutta in the years 1868-1873, was 4,858,163 owt. The destina tions of the Caloutta exports in 1872-73, in owts., were :—United Kingdom, 5,050,499, besides cuttings, 221,676, and rejections, 154,339 ; N. America, 307,718 ; cuttings, 1,039,953 ; rejections, 118,942 ; France, 137,126 ; outtings, 10,715 ; rejections, 625 ; Trieste, 9139; Amsterdam, 5357 ; China, 3398 ; Ceylon, 1664; Straits Settlements, 452 ; Australia, 282 ; Italy, 45; Cape, 18. Also Bombay, 158,073 ; Madras, 21,898 ; Pegu, 13,767.
The London market values of the fibre are approximately as follows :—Good, 161. 15s.-221. a ton; medium, 13/. 15s.-191. 10s. ; common, 11/. 10s.-171. ; rejections, 101.-111. ; cuttings, 91. 5s.-91. 10s.
Cordia ; tree, 12-15 ft. Found in Mysore, Bombay, and the Deccan. A fibre prepared from the bark is made into ropes, used in Malabar for dragging timber from the forests. It is very strong, and samples are said to have supported more than 600 lb.
C. latifolia and C. .Rothii afford similar fibre, used for rope, coarse cloth, twine, and netting.
Cordyline Zealand ; ft. A native of Australia and New Zealand ; found chiefly in swampy situations, but grows also on hill-sides. It may be readily propagated from seed, and grows rapidly. The stem is thickly fibrous, and the leaves, which are long and ribbon-like, about 2f in. wide, contain much fibre. It is said that the whole plant might ,be made into paper-pulp.
C. [Dracaena] Mountain ; stem, 6 ft. A native of New
Zealand, growing on the higher elopes of Mount Egmont, at altitudes of some 3000 ft., where the forest proper gives place to scrub. The leaves attain a length of 4 ft., and a breadth of 4-5 in., and contain an abundance of fibre, which diverges from the centre to the edge and top of the leaf. It is therefore shorter than the leaf, and not of the same strength throughout ; but it is prepared with greater care than the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax), and is better for cordage purposes, as it does not contract in water. The natives use it in the manufacture of rough mats, employed as a cape to keep off the rain, it being more durable than phormium fibre. Though the fibre is coarse, it seems well adapted for ropes, and paper-making.
Other species in Australasia and China furnish from their leaves a superior fibre for ropes and other purposes. C. terminalis, C. robusta, C. nutans, found in Australia, China, India, the South Sea Islands, Norfolk Island, &c., contribute fibres closely resembling phormium. C. indivisa and C. pumilio, in New Zealand, are said to yield respectively the toi and tiraurihi of the Maories.
Corypha [Livistona] australis — Australian Cabbage-palm. — Endogen. The leaves are of great size, and yield a fibre which is utilized by simply splitting the leaves longitudi nally. They are then woven into hats, baskets, netting, clothing, &c. A section of a portion of a leaf of this species is shown in Fig. 655 : e e', epidermis, on each side of the leaf ; f, fibro - vascular bundles, coloured yellow by test H; p, parenchyma ; mag. 100.
C. Gebanga, of Java, is similarly em ployed.
C. umbraculifera —Fan or Tali pot Palm.—Trunk 60-70 ft. Very common in Ceylon ; grows also in Malabar and on the Malay coast. The fibres re semble those of the preceding species, and are similarly employed. They are short, rigid, and with thick but irregular walls.
Their dimensions are : — length : max., 0.196 in.; min., in.; mean, 0.118 in. ; diameter : max., 0.00112 in.; min., 0.00064 in.; mean, 0.00096 in. They possess remarkable strength. Tents are commonly made of the split leaves in Ceylon.
Cotton. See Gossypium sp. div.
Crotalaria juncea—Sunn Hemp.—Exogen ; 4-8 ft. It is indigenous to S. Asia, and is widely dispersed throughout Tropical Australasia ; it is common in every part of India, and is extensively cultivated, especially in the N.-W. Provinces, where it takes the place held by jute (Corchorus) in Bengal. Some 50,000 acres are occupied by it in the Punjab.