### substance | fiber:

Straw
* Some straw absorbs water.
* better covering for winter protection of tender perennials.
* by-product of oats and wheat.
* byproduct of agriculture that is burned by the millions of tons annually.
* can prevent needed sunlight from reaching new seedlings, therefore inhibiting growth.
* comes from rice, oats, wheat, etc.
* decomposes more quickly than shavings, which is good for the soil.
* has better nutritive values
  - low embodied energy compared to other insulating materials
* has lower feed values
* is also more sustainable in that it can be grown in one season
  - naturally fire resistant because of the high silica content
  - an anisentropic material
* is an annually renewable agricultural byproduct of growing cereal grains
  - crop, available wherever grain crops are grown
  - natural material, the by-product of harvested grains
  - another alternative to wood
  - better than hay because it can absorb more moisture and is less prone to mold or rot
  - even higher in fibre but has very little food value
  - less digestible than seeds or grass, both of which produce classic tall fescue toxicity
  - made of grass, and some people use it to keep their home warmer
* is plant fibre
  - renewed annually and is the natural waste of grain harvest
  - solid objects
* is the dead stalks of plants after the valuable parts of the plants have been harvested
  - dried stems of grains such as wheat, rye, oats, and barley
  - most common mulch material used across the country
  - preferred bedding for farrowing sows and nursing piglets
  - stalk of the plant after the grain or seeds have been harvested
  - stem of cereal grains after the seed heads have been removed
  - stems of wheat or oat plants and is usually a bright golden-yellow in color
* is the traditional bedding for livestock
  - insulation material on farms
  - tough, thick, lightweight, and yellow or golden
  - tubes
  - typically a by-product of the grain industry
  - used mainly for animal bedding
* makes valuable fodder for both working and milking animals.
* nonhomogeneous material.
* serves purposes.
* settles, decomposes and enhances nutrient value.
* soft, dry insulative bedding which provides cushioning and warmth.
+ Jack Straw, Personal life: 1946 births :: Living people :: Anglicans :: British Christians :: Labour MPs (UK) :: Lord Chancellors :: Members of the British House of Commons for English constituencies :: Politicians from Essex
  * Straw has tinnitus.

### substance | fiber | straw:

Rice straw
* contains extremely small amounts of pesticide residue.
* has a high silica content and decomposes slowly even in moist soils.
* is fibrous, tough to cut, and contains large amounts of silicon
  - retained for feeding draught animals in most rice-producing countries in the tropics
* is used as roofing and packing material, feed, fertilizer, and fuel
  - to make ethanol in California

### substance | fiber:

Synthetic fiber
* Many synthetic fibers are resistant to mildew.
* Some synthetic fibers can melt at temperatures common in prescribed burning, causing severe burns.
* are dangerous to birds if ingested
  - generally semicrystalline polymers that are spun into filaments
  - highly flammable
  - more durable than most natural fibers
  - the norm now, ones that dry quickly, breath, but also retain heat
  - usually stronger than either natural or regenerated fibers
* has good resistance to passage of electrical current.
* is fiber
* resins, plastics, elastomers.
* resist rot and decay far more readily than natural cotton or linen.
* start as chemical mixtures and are pulled into long fibers through a sieve.

White fiber
* are big, powerful, fast, with few mitochondria, capillaries, and no myoglobin
  - more generously innervated than red fibers
* predominate in the digits and extraocular muscles of the eyes.