The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

208 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM :
seems to resolve itself, it appears to us that the evidence preponderates
against the use of Stipa Tenacissima for making
cloth in ancient times, and points to the conclusion, that the
coarse garments, to which PUny alludes, were fabricated
the fibrous rind of Spartium Junceum.
from
One of the most interesting facts in the geography of plants
is the frequent substitution in one country, of a plant of a cer-
tain natural order for another of the same natural order in an-
other country. The Indians have a plant, bearing a very close
and striking resemblance to the Spartium Junceum, which
they employ just as the natives of Bas Languedoc employ that
plant. We refer to the Crotalaria Juncea, called by the natives
Goni, Danapu, or Shanapu, and by us the Sun-plant, or Indian
Hemp. From the bark are made all kinds of ropes, pack-
ing-cloths, sacks, nets, &c. In order to improve the fibre, the
plants are sown as close as possible and thus draw up to the
height of about ten feet. According to Dr. Francis Buchanan,
the plant thrives best on a poor sandy soil, and requires to be
abundantly watered. After being cut down it is spread out to
the sun and dried. The seed is beaten out by striking the
pods with a stick. After this the stems are tied up in large
bundles, about twelve feet in circumference, and are preserved
in stacks or under sheds. When wanted, the stems are mace-
rated during six or eight days. They are known to be ready,
when the bark separates easily &om the pith. " The plant is
then taken out of the water, and a man, taking it up by handfuls,
beats them on the ground, and occasionally washes them
until they be clean ; and at the same time picks out with his
hand the remainder of the pith, until nothing except the bark
be left. This is then dried, and being taken up by handfuls,
is beaten with a stick to separate and clean the fibres. The
hemp is then completely ready, and is spun into thread on a
spindle, both by the men and women. The men alone weave
it, and perform this labor in the open air with a very rude
loom." The fabric made from it is a coarse, but very strong
sack-cloth.
" The fibres, when prepared," says Ironside, " are so similar