Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-25
GwENpoLKN OvEaroS,

SssEAN
1IBEKs AND THEIR USES.
Curious Ways in Which Plants Are Made
to Yield Fabrics.
There is fair prospect for the DEVELOPMENT
OF new industry in this country by making
use OF the fbers Of pineapple leaves for weav-
ing said Special Agent Charles Richards
Dodge of the Department Of Agriculture to a
representative of THE STAR. "Pineapples, YOU
thousands Of tons OF leaves which now are
thrown away could be utilized commercially the
profits OF the planters would be very much in
creased. Fabrics made from pineap-
pie fiber are the most delicate in
the world. They look like gossamer and
will almost float in the air. The fiber Is one of
the finest known in the vegetable kingdom 1t
Is employed to o considerable extont in India.
but is too costly to serve for ordinary purposes
In that country the pineapple fbers are labor
iously separated by hand, the ends Of them
being glued together to make continuous
threads.
THE BONES OF THE LEAVES.
LEAF fbers may be called the bones Of the
leaves. Thew support and keep in shape the
heshy vegetal structure. To separate the Hbers
the leaves are usually crushed. beaten and
washed in water, thus separating the pulpv
parts and leaving the skeletal system. The
skeletal portions of the leaves Of many plants
serve for weaving into fabrics and these are
called leaf fbers. OF course, other commercial
fbers are obtained from plant stalks, az in the
case OF hemp and rsmie. The fiber known as
cotton is an envelope which nature provides for
the protection Of the cotton seed By cultiva-
ton the quantity of this fiber contained In each
seed boil is greatly increased.
SPANISH MOSS
manila hemp is . variety Of the banana
The Spanish moss, which hangs in festoons
from trees in the south. belong to the same
order as the pineapple. This moss is also utilized
as a commercial fiber. 1t is treated In masses
with chemicals. which rot off its outer covering
or bark. After being dried it looks like horse
hair and Is called vegetable hair The Spanish
moss Is commonly described as parasitic
plant, being supposed to thrive at the expense
of the trees on which it grows; but that is q
mistake. II Is really an epiphyte-in other
words, an air plant, deriving its sustenance
from the air and not from the tree. 1t is apt
to injure the tree, more or less, by smothering
the buds, and 1t is most luxurlsnt on dying or
dead trees, because its own growth is not inter
fered with by foliage.
FAYAL LACE.
"Some Of the most beautiful lace in the
world known as 'Fayal lace is made in the
Azores from the fibers of bitter aloe leaves.
This plant is allied to the century plant The
lace is manufactured by women and such a high
order of skill is required to produce 1t that
only about twenty-five women on the island are
able to make it, having practiced the art from
childhood. The greater part Of the product is
sold In Paris. where 1t brings an enormous
price The ordinary century plant Yields q
fiber that is used in Mexico largely for cordage
mats, paper and other purposes Yet
another kind Of agave, called the 'ixtle,' af-
fords fiber which is imported in considerable
quantities into this country for use instead of
bristles for making brushes. The finest onal-
ity fetches AZ much as $500 ton. This plant
is not cultivated, but grows wild on the arid
table lands. where no other living thing can
find moisture enough to sustain existence
EXPERIMENTS IN THIS COUNTRY.
owe import $1,000. 900 worth of leaf fbers
annually. large part of which ought to be
grown in the United States. Atpresent expert
ments are being made with the culture of ramie
ard siSal hemp in this country. Both are very
green bayonet-shaped leaves. When it is ma
ture it sends up with great rapidity a central
stalk % feet high. From the upper half of this
stalk small branches grow out bearing tulip
shaped blossoms. Presently the blossoms
wither, the petals drop off, and in their place
leaN YES appear. Nltulu u lew Gays where each
flower has been complete little sisal plant has
developed, attached to = branch Of the parent
stem. When it is matured it drops upon the
ground and takes root if it can. This is
method of reproduction found in no other
plant save the sisal and a few of its
near relatives. Large tracts Of sisal hemp are
found in south Florida, descending from plant.
ings made at various times within the past fifty
years. There 10 an Gllied Species known "a the
false sisal,' which grows wild in many places
along the Florida coast, sometimes forming.
together with the Spanish bayouet and prickiy
pear. impenetrable thickets.
AT THE WORLDS FAIR.
"The Office Of fiber investigation in this de-
partment will exhibit at the worlds fair large
sssemblage Of fabrics, DO, made from rsmis
fiber. Al present the commercial supply OF
ramie is obtained mostly from China, but ef-
forts are being made to grow It In France,
California and other parts Of the world. There
ia no difficulty in cultivating it, iussmuch a. II
10 one Of the most prolific Of plants, but the
difficulty thus far has been to find q way of
separating the fiber cheaply enough to be
profitable. Ramie belongs to the nettle family,
being sometimes called the 'stingloss nettle.
1t is also known as China grass, having been
cultivated in that country from time immemo-
rial. The fiber Is formed in the bark of the
stalk. Among the articles made from ramie are
lace curtains, dress goods. table and bed linen,
upholstery goods and carpets. Al you will OBJ.
servo, the fabrics manufactured from Il are very
beautiful"