Name: _______________________________	Hour: ________________

Fibers:

Plant fibers are one of the most useful plant materials.  The composition of the fiber cell wall is chiefly ___________________.  The most valuable fibers are those that a nearly pure cellulose with high strength.  The _________________ strength measures the resistance of the fiber to tearing.  Most fibers are classified according to their use.  _________________ fibers make up cloth, __________________ fibers make up rope, and ___________________ fibers are used for stuffing upholstery.  Plant fibers can also be classified according to where they are found on a plant.  _________________ fibers are found covering seeds.  Linen & ramie are made from ______________ fibers consisting of phloem found in the inner bark.  Hard fibers or ________________ are found in vascular bundles or leaf veins.	

The extraction process varies to the fiber source.  Surface fibers are extracted though _______________, soft fibers are obtained through ________________, and hard fibers must be scrapped away from by hand by __________________________ .  Once fibers are extracted, they must be _________________ of plant materials.  Next, the fibers are __________________ and laid parallel to form a strand which must be _________________ by fingers or spindle.  The strands must be _________________ together to form yarn or thread.  

The Cotton Plant

Today, cotton is the most popular natural fiber accounting for __________ of the world’s textiles.  It is a member of the Malvaceae or ____________________ family and thrives in tropical and temperate areas.  Cotton is a shrubby plant with __________________ lobed leaves.  Flower color ranges from ___________________ to _________________.  The fruit forms a capsule or _____________ that splits along ____________ seams to release it’s seeds and masses of fibers.  Two types of seed hairs cover the seed surface: the long slender ____________ or staples and the short fuzzy ______________.  Generally, the ________________ the lint, the higher the quality of the cotton.

Cotton bolls mature in  ______ to _______ days.  Picking cotton is a labor intensive process, but today most cotton is picked by _____________________ .  Harvested bolls are sent to a  _________ where the lint is removed from the seed.  Originally, this was done by hand, but in 1793, _________________________ invented the saw gin.   The cotton gin made growing and processing cotton easier and expanded cotton planting.  Sadly, the need for ____________ labor had been decreasing, but cotton triggered a resurgence.  Cotton seed can be used to make _________________ feed and ____________________ oil.

Ginned fibers are packed into large ____________ and graded and shipped to manufacturers where the lint is straightened or _______________ and then sorted into bundles of similar size or __________________.  Most plants fibers are ____________________ to remove the natural color.  In eighteenth century England, cotton was soaked in sour milk & cow dung and then steeped in a bath of ___________.  A bath of ______________________ followed, then the cloth was washed, spread out in the grass and allowed the ___________ to bleach it white.  A breakthrough in the process came in 1774 with the discovery of _________________.

John Mercer introduced the process of _________________________ which finishes cotton and increases the fibers strength, luster, & its affinity for dye.  By passing the cloth through a bath of _________________  ___________, the flat cotton fibers swell into a _________________ shape.  ____________________________  _________________ is also an example of a shape-retentive finish produced by applying chemicals that cross-link the ____________________ fibers.  The application of ________________ to materials or yarn produces stiffness or firmness.  Cotton is usually sized with ____________ , ______________ , or ______________.

Linen

The oldest plant fiber used to make cloth may be _____________.  The stem of the plant has been used for at least _____________ years.  Linen was known to ancient civilizations, but it was _________________ that was the land of linen.  Today, linen accounts for _____% of the world’s textiles.

Flax is a delicate plant with bell-shaped flowers.  The fruit is a ___________ or capsule containing _____ brown seeds.  Flax is harvested in ________ days when the stalks are a golden brown.  Two types of flax are grown, one for it’s _____________ oil and one for its ____________.  Linseed is used to manufacture ____________ , ______________ , ______________ , and _____________ . The __________________ varieties of flax are grown for linen production.  Flax is a ____________ fiber composed of phloem fiber cells.  The length of the fiber is preserved by ____________ the flax up by the __________.  The flax is gathered into ______________ and stood upright in the field to dry.  Next, the seed ___________ are removed by pulling a _____________ or special type of threshing machine.  The fibers are extracted from the stem by ______________ or allowing microbial breakdown.  Dew retting can take up to 4 to 6 weeks, but immersing the flax in a ______________ can speed the process to only 1 to 2 weeks.  Once the fibers are retted, they must be dried by the sun or in a ___________.  The next stage in the process is the use of a flax _____________ which pounds the fiber free from the stem.  These devices have been replaced with machines that  press the flax through rollers.  Any ___________ or stem particles that remain are scraped off during ______________.  The freed fibers are _______________ or combed to separate the short fibers or __________ from the long fibers or _______________.  The flax fibers, which are normally _______________ are bleached in the sun.  The flax fibers are _____________ either wet or dry into _____________.  Linen is durable and used in clothing and home furnishings but the fibers lack of __________________ and causes the  fabric to be prone to ________________ .

Other bast fibers like flax include: ___________________,  __________________, and _________________.  Ramie fibers are a member of the ____________________ family and are some of the longest & strongest fibers, but it is brittle.  Ramie is usually blended with cotton to make clothing.  Fibers from the Tiliacea or ______________ family are used to make ________________ which is then used to make ___________________ and ropes.  Jute is native to __________________ and currently, 90% of the world’s supply comes from _____________________ and _____________________.  The ___________________ fibers Cannibus sativa are primarily used to make industrial fabrics like _________________ as well as ropes  and twine.  Levi Strauss originally make his work clothes from ________________.  Hemp cloth imported to France was known as ‘serge de Nimes’ which was later corrupted into the word _______________.  Hemp cloth was used in _________________________ and covered wagons.

Manila hemp or _________________is  a member of the ___________________ family. In the Phillipines, fibers from the ______________________ plant are used to make gossamer-like fabrics.  In Central America, ___________ is a leaf fiber that comes from the Agave.  Today, sisal is mainly used to make rope, _______________, and floor mats. Fibers from the __________________ were used in life preservers.  Lastly, the coconut is the source for _____________ fibers used to make ropes and door mats.

The first synthetic fiber produced was _________________.   Rayon consists of chemically altered cellulose used to produce _______________ fibers. Cotton ____________ and ______________ fibers are commonly used as the source of cellulose used in rayon production.  Because rayon is a _____________________ fiber, manufacturers can modify the size and shape.  In addition, adding rayon to ____________ has produced a linen-like fabric as a much cheaper cost.

Wood and Wood Products

Wood and wood products rank right behind _____________ plants in overall importance to society.  Wood is used for construction, furniture, paper, musical instruments, fuel, and charcoal to name a few products.  With that said, forestry scientists estimate that ______ % to _______ % of the world’s forests have already been destroyed or cleared.  Only _____ % of the world’s forest are currently managed and only _____% are protected.  Most tropical forests have been cleared for _____________________ or _________________.  Tropical woods such as ____________________ are used to make fine furniture.

Hardwoods & Softwoods

Wood is _____________________ xylem consisting largely of ____________ cells.  The overall value of wood resides in its _________________ and durability of the cell wall materials; primarily ________________ and _________________ .  There are two categories for wood.  The ____________________ refer to angiosperm trees and ______________________ refers to gymnosperms trees.  Generally the harder a wood is, the more ___________________ it is to wear.  The hardest and densest wood is _______________  _________ and the lightest is ____________ wood.  The centermost xylem called _________________ is best suited for lumber while the outside _____________________ are normally wet and subject to shrinkage and/or decay.

Different woods are suited to certain wood products for example:  _________________ is widely used in home construction, _______________________ makes wine barrels, ____________________ is used to create fine musical instruments, ___________________ is used in bowling alleys and pins, ___________________________ is treated and used for railroad ties, _____________________ is used for paper making, ______________________ is used for furniture making, _____________________ is used for sporting equipment, and ____________________ is often used for tool handles.

Other wood products include ____________________ which is a very thin sheet of desired wood that is glued to less expensive lumber.  _________________ consists of 3 or 4 layers of veneer that is glued together.  Wood can be burned directly or can be converted into ___________________ that burns at much higher temperatures.  _____________ include a broad collection of compounds most of which permits wood to resist decay.  One product removed from resin is ___________ that is often used by musicians and baseball players.  Pine _____________ has been used for waterproofing wooden ships for centuries.  Another product is ____________ produced in the cambium.  Its unique properties make it a good insulator and very light weight.  Wood ___________ is a watery suspension of pulverized wood used in papermaking.  Wood pulp is also used to manufacture ___________________ and fiberboard as well as rayon, ___________________, and cellulose acetate.

Paper & Papermaking

Some of the earliest paper was _____________________ made by the Egyptians about 4,500 years ago.  _________________ was prepared from the skins of sheep, calves, or goats; vellum was a similar product made from kids, lambs, or younger calves.  Modern paper is made from a ___________ or slurry of plant cells.  Cells are matted into thin layers and filled with ____________ or ____________ for added body.  True papermaking can be traced back to ________________.  Today, _____________ pulp is the major source of the world’s paper supply.  Alternative materials are being used to produce paper such as recycling ________________ scraps, ___________ straw, bamboo, _______________ from sugarcane, and even _______________ fibers.  Another source of pulp is from ____________________ paper.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a tree-like ______________.  It grows with a woody stalk or ___________ from an underground ____________________.   Unlike trees, it has no ______________ growth.  Bamboo has an incredible rate of growth, but even more astounding is that it only flowers every ________ , _________, or _________ years.  Within China, the most useful bamboo is the large cane or ______________ bamboo.  Tea stick or ___________ bamboo is used for garden stakes, ski poles, and fishing rods.