Spathodea ; small tree. Found in Bombay, in gardens ; also in the Khandalla Ghats, and in Malabar. The fibre extracted from the branches and roots is used for making nets.
Sponia ; small tree. A native of Ceylon, the Coromandel Coast, common along the foot of the Ghats, and occurring in the Kenuery forests, Salsette, in Nepal, Bengal, Sylhet, and Assam. The under•bark consists of numerous reticulated fibres, used for clothing by some native races.
S. plant is a native of India, being especially abundant in the Concans. The fibrous bark or bast occurs in strips 12-30 in. long, 3-15 ft. wide, and in. thick. It is used not only as bast, but also in the manufacture of cordage. This fibre, and that of S. orientalis, are also said to be utilized in Mauritius and Venezuela.
Sterculia sp. S. rupestris is the true "bottle-tree " of the Brigalow scrubs of New South Wales and Queensland. S. divcrsifolia occurs from the eastern parts of Victoria to the south-western parts of Queensland. Both afford a fibrous bark, which may be useful for paper making, and other purposes.
S. guttata is a tree, growing to a height of 70 ft. It is a native of Malabar. The bark of trees of the 10th year is employed by the natives on the western coast of India for making coarse clothing, and oordage. The tree is felled, its branohes are lopped, the trunk is cut into pieces 6 ft. long, a longitudinal inoision is made in each piece, and the bark is opened, taken off entire, chopped, washed, and sun-dried. In this state, it is very pliable and tough, and is used for clothing without further preparation.
S. villosa is a large tree of the Deccan, and the mountainous districts eastward of Bengal ; common in many places on the outer hills of the N.-W. Himalaya up to 3600 ft.; also in Assam, Cuttaok, and S. India generally. The bark is easily stripped off the whole length of the trunk, the inner layers containing fine fibre, while the outer are composed of coarser and stronger qualities. The fibre is manufactured into ropes for elephant-catching, and other purposes, which are very strong and lasting, and but little affected by wet. It is also used for making bagging and paper.
S. faitida, S. rupestris, S. Dombeya, S. acerifolia, S. ramiflora, indigenous to Australia, the E. Indies, America, and Natal, as well as S. tomentosa in Angola, afford excellent fibres ; so also S. caribtea, of Trinidad and New Caledonia.
Stipa Native of Tasmania ; common in some localities. After the seed has ripened, the upper part of the stem breaks up into fibre, which curls loosely and hangs down. The quality of the fibre in this state must be inferior to what it would become under proper treatment.
S. arenaria is a closely allied and taller species, confined to Spain and Portugal. In Australia, occur S. setacea, S. pubescens, and S. micrantha ; in the Argentine Republic, S. Ichon and Chusguea Loretziana.
native of Senegal. Its seed hairs are used for stuffing purposes.
Thespesia sp. T. Lampas is a native of India, and is found especially in the Cancans, where it is used like Crotalaria. T. populnea occurs in S. America, and in the Society and South Sea Islands ; in British Guiana, it is used for making coffee-bags.
Tilia This tree abounds in certain forests in Russia, where the collection of its bark forms an important industry. The trees are cut down at the age of 8-16 years, when the sap is rising, in May-June, the bark being then most easily removed. The bark is divided into longitudinal strips, 4-6 ft. long, which are loosened by the aid of a knife, and then torn off by band, and spread out to dry. When soaked in water, the cortical layers separate ; the fibres from the interior are most esteemed, the outer ones being coarser. The wood is converted into charcoal, and the sap is occasionally evaporated to yield sugar.
A section of the young bark of T. argentea is seen in Fig. 703 : a, bark ; b, lignoee ; c, cambium ; e, epidermis ; f, bast fibres, coloured deep yellow by test H ; mag. 100. The fibres are abundant, tenacious, supple, short, and fine. Their dimensions are : —length : max., 0.196 in. ; min., 0.05 in. ; mean, in. ; diameter: mean, 0 00064 in.