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Rhea (Variety of the nettle family)

a variety of the nettle family, which grows luxuriantly in India. From the delicate fibers in its bark the finest and strongest textile fabrics can be produced, and in the manufacture of such fabrics it is unrivalled. The hindrance to its use has hitherto lain in the difficulty and cost of separating the fibers RHEA from the gums and cortex of the bark in which they are embedded. However, an Anglo-Indian chemist, Mr. Gomess, has succeeded in elaborating a chemical process which frees the fiber from the resins in which it is imbedded, by the use of zincate of soda; and this process, after numerous trials, the Indian Government pronounced a complete success. large demand consequently developed for the "ribbons" or strips of dried bark.

Rhea fibers can be worked into every variety of fabric, from velvets to laces.

It is specially suitable, from its lightness and toughness, for tents and ship ship can vas, and it is found to be far more durable than linen. A