What is Coraline?
THE ladies who wear corsets boned with Coraline are now counted by the million, and there is accordingly a very general desire to know more about this wonderful material.
Coraline is manufactured from ixtle, a plant which grows in Mexico and some parts of South America. In general appearance, it resembles somewhat the American aloe or century plant, but its leaves are longer and more slender. Scattered through the centre of these pulpy leaves are a number of round, tough, elastic fibres like bristles, which average about two feet in length. These leaves are gathered by the natives, and in a crude manner they are pounded and bruised until these fibres are separated from the pulpy portion. This is then dried and put into bales, in which condition it is shipped to our factory. Here we go over it again, carefully hackling and combing it until we have separated all the waste material, leaving only the long and perfect fibres. These
(3)
