FIBRE (Lat. fibra), a fine thread or filament; a fine slender body, such as those of which flesh, nerves, plants, roots, &c., are composed. In our manufactures vegetable filaments and fibres are among the most important of the whole series of raw produce; furnishing thread, cloth, cordage, and the like. For these purposes the filamentous parts of the Gossypium, Cannabis, and Linum, or cotton, hemp, and flax, are commonly used. The fibres of other plants have been employed in different countries for the same uses. Putrefaction destroys the pulpy matter, and leaves the tough filaments entire. Different kinds of cloth are prepared in the east from the fibres of the bark of certain trees boiled in a strong lye. Some of these cloths are very fine, and approach to the softness of silk, but in durability fall short of cotton; others again are coarser and stronger, and much exceed cotton in durability. See BOTANY, vol. v., p. 69, and FLAX. For the chemical properties of vegetable fibre, see CHEMISTRY, vol. vi., pp. 515, 516.