Page:TheTreesOfGreatBritainAndIreland vol01.djvu/116

88 it is largely used in Japan for chip-braid, a peculiar Japanese industry, which has lately attained considerable importance, the export for 1903 amounting to no less than 1,363,000 yen—equal to about £140,000. This braid is mainly used for making hats and bonnets, but it is also woven into floor-matting, and as shown at the St. Louis Exhibition is both ornamental and cheap.

There are many different varieties of chip-braid, some of which are dyed of different colours, and others are plaited with a mixture of silk. It is exported in bundles of 50 to 60 yards long and 1 to 1½ inches wide, and is valued according to quality at 1s. to 6s. per bundle. The best are made by mixing chips of Populus tremula and Picea ajanensis.