CHAPTER XI.
FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE.
Fibres of the Pine-Apple--Facility of dyeing--Manner of preparing the fibres for weaving--Easy cultivation of the plant--Thrives where no other plant will live--Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke’s patent process of manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant--Its comparative want of strength--Silken material procured from the Papyfera--Spun and woven into cloth--Cloth of this description manufactured generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea Islands--Great strength (supposed) of ropes made from the fibres of the aloe--Exaggerated statements 185