443 
weeks before the tests were made. The results are averaged from ten 
stalks: 
Tat Hand Machine 
Weight. stripped. stripped. 
GTGSN Sta) kamen sees ere! bance eer pment tes gah at i Sh Se kilos__ 15, 876 18, 984 
CETGON Hi DGT Reese se eee 28 ee eee Oltyess . 817 . 199 
DT yf Der See eo eee Seca 5 he ee tee eee dQne=2 . 159 . 1147 
GreenwtibDrous: WASlesstae ss eee eee ee eee See Coke paes Prog | ete etc sree 
Dry fibrous. waste we sess seer oes eee ei re eee St toe nl Se <0 Ce yatta 199 . 635 
Percentageror dry-waste: per stal ko aes seee cee oss sen ee ee Pee see eee ses 1225 4.54 
Percentage ordry, tiber perstal ksoseeces Se eee 8 wes See ee ee 1. 00 . 821 
Explanation of results.—In order to explain the data recorded in the 
above table it is necessary to describe the manner in which the stalks 
were prepared for the two methods of treatment. For the hand strip- 
ping, about one foot of each end of the stalks was chopped off to facilitate 
the removal of the petioles, and three or four of the outer ones, which 
were bruised and discolored, were also discarded. Then, two or more 
ribbon-like strips were peeled from the entire length of the outer surface 
of each layer of the remaining portion of the stalk. Only these thin, 
fibrous ribbons were subjected to the stripping process. All the cellular 
portions of each petiole, together with the outer sheathes and the cut 
ends, were discarded. These constitute a class of waste distinct from 
that which results from the stripping operation itself. For reasons which 
will appear later, this waste is designated as semifibrous in distinction 
from the genuine fibrous material collected under the stripping knife. 
In the case of the machine-stripped fiber, the stalks were prepared by 
first removing the ends and outer petioles, as in the method mentioned 
above, but the remainder was cut lengthwise into sections of the requisite 
width and then fed directly into the machine, without any attempt being 
made at the separation of the fibrous from the cellular portions. Hence, 
the 635 grams of dry waste which remained represented the quantity pro- 
duced by the actual stripping process and must directly be compared with 
the 199 grams of dry, fibrous waste obtained by the other method. The 
machine removed so much water from the waste that its weight in a 
green state would have afforded no value for comparison; therefore it 
was not determined." 
The machine employed for this test was still in an experimental stage, 
hence the results obtained do not afford reliable data as to the possible 
é 
"Concerning the percentage of mercantile fiber produced by the two different 
methods of stripping, it will be observed that only 114 grams per stalk were ob- 
tained by machine stripping, as compared with 159 grams per stalk by hand 
stripping. However, it is only fair to state that the machine-stripped fiber was 
of better quality, being more polished and drier, as the comparative weights of 
green and dry fiber show. 
