COTTON ALTERNATIVE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 284, 30 November 1928, Page 7

COTTON ALTERNATIVE.

Plant Found To Yield Big Amount Of Fibre. RESEMBLANCE TO FLAX. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, November 29. The discovery recently made by British scientists of a plant which yields a high percentage of fibre which is expected to provide an alternative to cotton has created great interest in Lancashire. The demand for specimens of the fibre has far exceeded the limits of the immediately available material. This is being cultivated in eastern English counties. Experts who have inspected specimens agree that if anything like adequate production can be assured the fibre should prove distinctly useful. The "Manchester Guardian" says the fibre is of the best order. It is lustrous and resembles fine flax in appearance. Even under the microscope it is hard to distinguish it from flax. It is reported that the dyeing of the yarn formed by mixing the fibre with cotton presents no particular difficulty. Representatives of large cotton interests of Lancashire, however, are awaiting more definite information about the prospects of production before undertaking further serious consideration of its commercial possibilities. It is recognised, however, that the new fibre would have an advantage in that, if it could be successfully cultivated, the raw material could be reaped and would not be required to be picked or pulled.

On November 20 a message stated that valuable quantities of a new plant had been found in South America by two English scientists. They were attracted by the singular construction of a bird's nest. They watched the bird collect what appeared to be a common weed, and soak it in a pool of water, then weave it with its beak. Tests showed it to contain an iron compound, and the scientists, after eight years of experiments, have succeeded in producing it on marketable lines.