7S<^ 



THE TROPICAL AGRICtJLTtTRIST, 



[April t, 1884, 



useless to attempt to wash the fibre, or indeed to do any- 

 thiug to it beyoud drying it in the sun and beating Bome 

 of the pithy substance' out of it before it is pacljeJ for 

 shipment. 



To sum up my recommendations under this head, the 

 chief points to which attenoion should be given:— 



1. To grow large quantities of the plants and utilise all 

 waste lands so as to produce leaves cheaply and economically. 



2. To use simple and effective machines, the Gracieus 

 or the Mamitius machine tor preference, cheaply worked 

 in the innuediate neighbourhood of the plants. 



3. To dry the fibre by exposure to the sun and air, and 

 ship it in a perfectly dry condition. 



New Zealand Ma.i: — New Zealand Flax (Phormiiim tenax) 

 has been extensively planted over the islaud, and in some 

 cases it occupies good and valuable soil. Some time ago 

 an attempt was made to establish a factory for the pre- 

 paration of the valuable fibre yielded by this plant; and 

 many people were thus tempted to cultivate it. As the 

 factory with expensive machinei-y was established at James- 

 town, several miles away from where the plants were 

 grown, the expense of transport — chiefly by means of the 

 small breed of island donkeys — was so great as to swallow 

 up all the profits. 



This cannot be a matter of surprise when it is remem- 

 bered that it would take more than 100 tons of leaves, and 

 these carried in small loads, to jneld about five tons of fibre. 



If another attempt is made to extract fibre fiom the 

 New Zealand flax, the machinery should be placed quite 

 close to the plants ; and it might be more profitable in 

 the end to ship a lower class of fibre than attempt to work 

 expensive machines requiring a large water supply. 



I am encouraged in this view by the report of Messrs. 

 OoUyer & Co., the brokers who examined the I'urcraa fibre, 

 on a sample of New Zealand flax, roughly prepared by 

 Mr. Deason's machine. This was passed through the machine 

 in the same manner as the Fureiura leaves, and submitted 

 without washing or the use of chemicals. Messrs. Oollycr's 

 Keport is as follows: — 



" New Zealand flax (Phm'mmm tenax) St. Helena. 



"Fair length: fair strength : poor brownish colom' : fairly 

 clean: some runners untouched and barky. Value, 22^. to 

 23^. per ton. 



" Either this fibre, or that of the aloe {Fiircraa yiyantea) 

 would be fairly saleable in large quantities.'" 



If Jlr. Deason's machiue does not fully answer for the 

 New Zealand flax, possibly the machines manufactured by 

 Messrs. Death & EUwood would do so. A single macliine. 

 of their pattern may be had for about 37^. 10s, and they 

 are fitted with special apphances, so that they can be driven 

 either by cattle or horses or by windmill power. 



I commend tlie subject of the extraction of fibre from 

 the New Zealand flax to the careful attention of proprie- 

 tors in the island ; ,nnd failing remunerative prices for the 

 fibre, there is still an opening in shipping " half-stuff " for 

 the paper manufacturers, and obtaiuing some return from 

 the hundreds of tons of this material now growing use- 

 lessly on such extensive tracts in the island. 



Barhadocs Aloes. — Another member of the .aloe family, 

 which is very abundant in the island, and capable of being 

 largely utilised, is the Barbadoes aloe (Aloe vulgaris). 



It grows freely in Jamestown Valley in volcanic ash, 

 and on barren rocks. It is fast spreading also in Kupert's 

 Valley; and I noticed it was there used, and seemed to 

 flourish as a coping for a stone wall. 



This plant, so hardy and prolific, produces the aloes of 

 medicine, and it is cultivated, especially at Barbadoes in 

 the "West Indies, solely for this purpose. 



It reproduces itself by means of suckers around the stem ; 

 these being removed when about 6 inches high are planted 

 out on waste pieces of land about 2 feet apart. Wlien 

 fully growii, and just before flowering, the outer and older 

 leaves arc first removed ; they contain an .abundance of 

 ft thick yellowish juice, which is allowed to drain into 

 troughs leading into a large iron pot or cauldron. When 

 the pot is nearly filled it is placed over a fire, and the 

 juice boiled until it has attained the consistency of thick 

 glue ; this when cool is the aloes of commerce, and it is 

 usually exported to Engliind in bottles or gourds. 



Barbadoes aloes, prepared in the manner .above indicated, 

 is valued in the Ijondou market at il. to 8^. jjcr cwt. 

 ■ It is usually retailed by druggists at 4s Cd per poimd. 



This industry, which necessarily must be very small might, 

 commend itself to the notice of many people, especially 

 fishermen and others, living in the lower valleys. The 

 plant is abundant ; its cultivation, if merely putting a few 

 suckers in the ground can be so called, is of the simplest 

 description ; and the preparation of the juice requires only 

 a few troughs, made by nsiiling a couple of pieces of board 

 at right angles to each other, and an iron pot. If some 

 local tradesmen were to give .attention to the subject, and 

 undertake to purchase the manufactured aloes from the 

 cultivators in small quantities, the industry would soon be 

 placed upon a satisfactory footing. 



H'olJdiig Uticks, t^-c. — I noticed in many parts of the is- 

 land that a considerable quantity of low brushwood, com- 

 posed of privet (Canthium sp.) as well as numerous hedge- 

 rows of wild pepper (Cluytia pulchella), were spreading by 

 means of root suckers over large areas. Also the Europ- 

 ean gorse or furze bush (Vlex evropipus), a naturahsed 

 plant in St. Helena, covered many acres of the somewhat 

 barren slopes at mid-elevation. It occurred to me that 

 possibly a small trade might be made in sending selected 

 specimens of these to England for walking sticks, una. 

 brella handles, &c. 



With the view of testing the demand for such articles 

 I brought with me a bundle of sticks, representative 

 of the three plants above mentioned; and I had them 

 submitted (through the Kew Museum) tor examination by 

 one of the largest fii-ms in London interested in the subject. 



The report which I received is as follows : — 



Report by Messrs. H. Howell & Co., of 180, Old Street, 

 Oity Koad, London, upon sticks from St. Helena, collected 

 by Mr. D. Morris. 



24th September, 18S3. 



" We have given attention to the specimens of sticks 

 from St. Helena which you kindly sent for our inspection, 

 and the resiUt is that we find it dilficult to speak as to 

 their commercial value from such a small sample^ as from 

 a long experience we find that the larger the sample in 

 sticks the more nearly it is likely to represent the bulk. 



"Each of the specimens, however, have characteristics 

 which we Uke, and if you could get over a large sample, 

 say 500 or 1,000 each, or even say 200 each, we coidd 

 then estunate their probable value in the market. 



" The wild pepper should be sent over without having the 

 root peeled. We prefer the roots left as large and natural 

 as possible, so that we can use our discretion in shaping 

 the handles. This remark applies equally to the privet. 



" If the furze, too, can be cut with a knob or crook of 

 some sort it will increase their value. 



" These sticks, viz., the two each sent us, are all very 

 fjiirly selected ; that is, they are good sizes, .and they tajjer 

 nicely from the root to the pomt. Moreover, they are 

 free from knees or acute angles, which always, when pre- 

 sent, depreciate the value of sticks. 



" The diameter of sticks such as these can v.ary from 

 ^ inch to about 1 inch (youi-s measure | to j)." 



Heney Howell & Cn. 



Pi/rolusite. — Pyrolusite, or black oxide of manganese, is 

 occasionally found in veins amongst the finely crystalline 

 felspathic greystone lavas at Horse point ; and, I believe, 

 at one time an .attempt w^as made to export it to Europe. 

 The price oVitaiued did not, however, encourage the hope 

 of making it a permanent industry. The ore is of a part- 

 icularly h ird description, and difficult to separate from the 

 clay beds in which it occurs. More than this, the cost of 

 transport is so great, that until some means can be ob- 

 tained f) ship it on the spot, there is little hope of plac- 

 ing it in the market, so as to compete with supplies from 

 other countries. [See Appendix I.] 



Claj:!<. — The numerous clays, ranging from bright red to 

 pure white, found at the higher elevations, as they all 

 contain iron, would l>e quite unfit for potter's purposes. 



Coffee. — Coffee is grown in small patches varying from 

 one-fourth of an aero to two or three acres. At Plant- 

 ation House, Ten-ace Knoll, Bambu Groove, Elliotts, Pro- 

 spect, and Oaklands, I saw very fine patches of coffee, 

 somewhat neglected and unpruned it is true, but indic- 

 ating the capabilities of the island to grow, in sheltered 

 hollows, a fair quantity of very good coffee. The extent 

 of land actually suitable for coffee would, however, be 

 60 small that I do not anticipate it will, under any cir« 

 cumstauce.s, be produced in suilicieut quantity for es- 



