An offer, said to have been made by the "Times", having excited attention
even in this distant part, I asked the commandant if he knew of any plant
fit for the production of paper. He procured specimens
of the fibrous tissue of a species of aloe, named Conge, and some also
from the root of a wild date, and, lastly, of a plant named Buaze,
the fibres of which, though useless for the manufacture of paper, are probably
a suitable substitute for flax. I submitted a small quantity of these fibres
to Messrs. Pye, Brothers, of London, who have invented a superior mode
for the preparation of such tissues for the manufacturer. They most politely
undertook the examination, and have given a favorable opinion of the Buaze,
as may be seen in the note below.*
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* 80 Lombard Street, 20th March, 1857.
Dear Sir, - We have the pleasure to return you
the specimens of fibrous plants from the Zambesi River,
on which you were desirous to see the effects of our treatment;
we therefore inclose to you,
No. 1. Buaze, in the state received from you.
1 A. Do. as prepared by us.
1 B. The tow which has come from it in hackling.
No. 2. Conge, as received from you.
2 A. Do. as prepared by us.
With regard to both these fibres, we must state that
the VERY MINUTE QUANTITY of each specimen has prevented
our subjecting them to any thing like the full treatment of our process,
and we can therefore only give you an APPROXIMATE idea of their value.
The Buaze evidently possesses a very strong and fine fibre,
assimilating to flax in its character, but we believe,
when treated IN QUANTITY by our process, it would show
both a stronger and finer fibre than flax; but being unable
to apply the rolling or pressing processes with any efficiency
to so very small a quantity, the gums are not yet so perfectly extracted
as they would be, nor the fibre opened out to so fine a quality
as it would then exhibit.
This is even yet more the case with the Conge, which, being naturally
a harsh fibre, full of gums, wants exactly that powerful treatment
which our process is calculated to give it, but which can not be applied
to such miniature specimens. We do not therefore consider this
as more than half treated, its fibre consequently remaining yet harsh,
and coarse, and stiff, as compared with what it would be
if treated IN QUANTITY.
Judging that it would be satisfactory to you to be in possession
of the best practical opinion to be obtained on such a subject,
we took the liberty of forwarding your little specimens
to Messrs.
