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Show JAVANESE WEED OF VALUE. Its Fibers Make the Dest Kind of Mattress Known, Every year Amsterdam receives nearly 1,000 pounds' weight of a curious curi-ous and Interesting vcgctablo known In Java and In tho trado ns kapok. It Is a sort of clIow wadding which nnturo uses as a covering for tho soeds of certain trees In tho Malaccas. Malac-cas. Its fibers being very nonreslst-Ing, nonreslst-Ing, it has been found Imposslblo to Bpln or woavo it, but It gives excellent excel-lent results for bedding, ranking n mattress delightfully soft It It Is exposed ex-posed to tho sun before being used. It Is exceedingly light nnd buoyant, In this respect greatly surpassing cork, as It will support In tho water thirty five times Its own weight. Tho trco whenco it is derived (Krlodcndron) grows rapidly, nnd In tho second year is twelvo to fifteen feet high, but It docs not fruit abundantly until tho fourth year. Like tho cotton plant It bestrows two gifts on man, tho special wadding mentioned, which lines tho husk, and tho oil extractec" from tho seeds, which Is used especially especi-ally In tho Chlneso markets. Tho threads of tho Eoft fiber taken from tho pods are light yellow, rather silky nnd only about an Inch In length. They aro mado into nn inch In length. |