A Word of Destiny.

The plant known as “New Zealand flax” is really a gigantic member of the lily family.

Why did a scientist give the name phormium tenax to New Zealand's big strong-fibred lily? The word phormium is based on the Greek phormos, which means a basket, and the meaning of the Latin adjective tenax is seen in its derivative, tenacious. So phormium tenax may be translated as “material for strong baskets.” It is a compliment of old-time expert observers to the handicraft of Maori women.

It is destiny then—after the passing of more than a century and a half— that one old-time use of the fibre, the use which gave the plant its botanical name, is to be justified by a modern manufacture of “strong baskets,” known as wool-packs, from that material by a process which would seem miraculous to the Maori.