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. This plant, which has hitherto been valued solely as ministering to the luxuries of the table, has lately had a new interest attached to it from the discovery of a fibre contained in its leaves, possessing such valuable properties, that it will, in all probability, soon form a new and important article of commerce. The fibres of the pine-apple plant are disposed in fasciculi, each apparent fibre being an assemblage of fibres adhering together, of such exceeding delicacy, as only to measure from 1/5000th to 1/7000th part of an inch in diameter; viewed under the microscope, they bear considerable resemblance to silk, from their glossy, even, and smooth texture. They appear altogether destitute of joints, or other irregularities, and are remarkably transparent, particularly when viewed in water: they are very elastic, of considerable strength, and readily receive the most delicate dyes. This last fact appears singular, when we bear in mind the resistance, if we may be allowed the expression, which flax offers to dyes. With much trouble, and by long processes, flax will receive a few dark dingy colors: all light and brilliant ones it wholly resists; they do not enter the fibre, but merely dry upon it externally, and afterwards easily peel, or rub off,--in short, it may be said to be _painted_, and not dyed. The preparation of the pine-fibre is exceedingly simple. If a leaf of this plant be examined, it will be found to consist of an assemblage of fibres running parallel from one extremity of the leaf to the other, embedded in the soft pabulum. All the process necessary is to pass the leaf under a “tilt hammer,” the rapid action of which, in a few seconds, completely crushes it, without in the slightest degree injuring the fibre, which remains in a large skein, and then requires to be rinsed out in soft water, to cleanse it from impurities, and be afterwards dried in the shade. So simple and rapid is the process, that a leaf, in a quarter of an hour after being cut from the plant, may be in a state fit for the purposes of the manufacturer, as a glossy, white fibre, with its strength unimpaired by any process of maceration, which, by inducing partial putrefaction, not only materially injures the strength of flax, but also renders it of a dingy color.