462 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[January i, 1884. 



supplied with rope made there of it, says that it is of no 

 use for running gear, as it swells so considerably with even 

 hght wet that it jams in the blocks. J\Ir. Simmonds says 

 that though it is now cultivated very largely, the money 

 reahsed scarcely pa> s for the cost of production. 



ilr. Simmonds says you may dismiss the idea of Sansi- 

 viera and Phormium Tenax being cultivated successfully in 

 Katal, restricting the term to the commercial sense of the 

 word. The Saiisiviera requires technical skill in its pre- 

 paration to such an extent that it is a (commercial) success 

 nowhere, and the New Zealand Haxis already cultivated very 

 largely, while the money realized scarcely pays for the dost 

 of production. As regards the Affave, Mr. Simmonds speaks 

 very differently, and would decitiedly eucourage attention 

 to the subject as to machinery for itsprepiiration. English 

 makers have yet to begin : the French people are more con- 

 ven-sant with the matter, and have probably made some of 

 the machines now in use in the IMauritius. Mr. S. says your 

 most practical course is to obtain in Mauritius all the in- 

 formation sought, and this sums up in one sentence the only 

 conclusion to be arrived at in England. Mr. Simmonds says 

 the cultivation of the Agave and preparation of the fibre of- 

 fers one of the most promising fields for enterprize that can 

 be named at present, but considers tb6 fibre made from 

 China grass would be the most valuable if a machine could 

 only be invented for separating the skin or bark from the 

 stem, differing from other fibres. That made from China 

 grass is obtainetl from the . skin or bark, which has to be 

 peeled off while the stem is freyh cut, or afterwards it can 

 only be done after the stem has been softened by water. 

 No machine has yet been invented that will do this work 

 properly. Mr. Simmonds confirmed what I ha\e heard 

 several times lately, that there is a gi'eat want of material 

 for paper-making ; so much so that sawdust from Sweden 

 and Norway is now being converted into a pulp by chemi- 

 cal process for the purpose ot being mixed with other 

 material for paper. Even megass from sugar estates, after 

 being dried and bloached, if obtainable iii large quantities, 

 will be worth here about £8 per ton. The wild pineapple 

 and many other plants are capable of being converted into 

 pulp, bleached, and used for paper-making. I was not aware 

 that Manilla fibre is produced lai-gely from the wild banana 

 and pJaintain until Mr. Simmonds told me so ; there 'are 

 proper machines for expelling the sap (rollers, lk.c.) in use in 

 the Phi]ii>pine Islands. 



Rhtea fibre, or China grass, has been already tried here, and 

 so far as growth is concerned is everything that could be 

 wished ; but no machinery has yet been made to prepare it 

 successfully, though lately a Mr. Oautwell has pubii.shed a 

 process which seems to overcome certain difliculties. Still 

 your Committee think that the knowledge of this subject is, 

 at preseut too imperfect to warrant its being tried here 

 for at all events some time to come. 



Hemp and jute. These plants deserve more than a passing 

 notice. There can be no doubt, according to Dr. Sutherland 

 that both these plants can be grown successfully. But the 

 jute has a woody stem, from which the bark has to be re- 

 moved by a somewhat tedious process. Then its cheapness 

 in India would probably make its production here a doubt- 

 ful success. Hemp grows luxuriantly, but is specially liable 

 to be ruined by storms ; a violent \vind or rain storm would 

 lay and spoil it. It is diu:ciou.s. that is one of those plants 

 that are male and female on different plants ; iiud each 

 variety retiuires to be differently treated, unless the seed be 

 sacrificed. It has one objection, however, Vvhich is by no means 

 slight; unless the steeping, or retting, is done by chemical 

 process, it is highly poisonous, both in its liquid form and 

 from its noxious gases. It is true that one member of your 

 Committee asserts, from his personal knowledge, that it 

 merely requires drying, and that retting is unnecessary ; but 

 we cannot fiud anyprintedaulhorityfor such a plan. Some 

 books do, indeed, mention it, but only to condemn it; and 

 if retting is a necessity, your Committee think it would be 

 'inwise to run the risk of recommending its cultivation, un- 

 ess it be accompanied by legislation, to control its prepara- 

 tion. At the same time, it has the distinct advantage of an 

 unlimited market, which would recommend it to many. 

 There are many native plants akin to these which your Com- 

 mittee do not notice, as it-^ members conceive the Associ- 

 ation did not somuch wi.-^h to have attention called to new 

 plants as to those which, being already knowii, have a dis- 

 tinct commercial value. 



"We now come to the different varieties of Aloe, as they are 

 popularly called, though the only two yom* Committee wish 

 to notice are the Ayave' Americana, or Blue Aloe, and the 

 Fon.ci-oya Gi<j(intea, or Green Aloe. The habit of calling 

 all these *' aloes" lias led to a supposition among some peo~ 

 pie that the commercial drug and the fibre come from the 

 same plant, which is erroneous, so far as tlie plants under 

 notice are concerned. The pamplilet bj' M. Evenor de 

 Chazal, and the translation by his brother, will be fresh in 

 the minds of the members of the Association, and your Com- 

 mittee, therefore, think it unnecessary to further allude to 

 them here ; and, as they also quote from Dr. Forbes Uoyle's 

 book, no reference is made to that work. Your Committee 

 will only allude to the communicatien from Dr. Sutherland, 

 under date 29th July, 18S2, where he mentions the great 

 success which attends on the cultivation CKpecially of the 

 Fovrcroi/a. It has an objection in (according to him) re- 

 quiring six years to mature (this is somewhat modified by 

 Mr. Blarney's experience at Milkwood Ki-aal. alluded to fiu*- 

 ther on) ; but the leaves will then be 6 to 10 ft. long. A fidi 

 crop, he says, will yield probably 75 tons per acre of leaves, 

 fresh as cut ; the yield of fibre is 3 per cent., giving thus IJ 

 tons of fibre ])er acre, worth about £40 per ton or £60 per 

 acre. It is not suitable for cultivation where the frost is se- 

 vere or loug continued. Yet the chcumstance of growing it 

 in such a situation led Dr. Sutherland to an inference which 

 may hereafter be valuable. He noticed that the frost caused 

 the leaves to droop for about half their length, or until the 

 thick part was reached; and in a very short space of time 

 this portion of the leaf completely rotted, as he describes it, 

 like a bad pumpkin. He conceived this to be due to the 

 juices bursting the cell-walls of tissue, when, of conr.'^e, the 

 substance would quickly decay. As the fibre and ceil walls 

 are composed of the same material, no chemical could be used 

 to destroy one without affecting the other ; yet if such a 

 process cmdd be discovered a great impetus would be given 

 to the cultivation of the FoJir croi/a hy greatly increasing the 

 quantity of fibre, a large proportion of which is lost by any 

 preparation l>y macbine'ry. The action of the frost gave Dr. 

 Sutherland a liint, which he only lacks opportunity to put to 

 a practical commereial test. He conceived the idea of imit- 

 ating the action of the frost in bursting the cell walls of the 

 plant, and accomplished this by submitting the leaves to a 

 pressure of 60 lb. of steam. The result was partly success- 

 ful, the only objection beiug that the process slightly dis- 

 coloured the fibre, which is naturally of a pme white. At 

 present this is not of so much consequence, as the fibre is said 

 to be largely used for adulterating Italian hemp, and the 

 extra quantity may compensate for the loss in colour ; hut 

 when proper experiments are made probably the discolor- 

 ation will be avoided, or decolorlzation effected hy some 

 Ideaching process. We find that fibre from this plant has 

 been for some time, and is now, exported from various coun- 

 tries, presumably at a profit. One thing is cert,iiu. Tiie 

 fibre, in all cases, is prepared by machinery more or less rude 

 and primitive, EvenM.de Chazal saj's of theprocess now 

 in vogue in IMauritius " c'est brutal ;"and there can be little 

 doubt that if this fibre can be produced at a profit with the 

 present rough ai)pliances, which do not extract the half of it, 

 it will eventually prove one of the most rehable crops we 

 can produce. Mr. K. Blarney, of Millcwood Kraal, has giveii 

 some i)ractJcal information to the Conmiittee. and exhibits 

 specimens of rope and cord made from Foifvcrot/a fibre. He 

 estimates the yield of fibre at the same as Dr. Sutherland, 

 and says that no cord or rope is use<l on IMilkwood Kraal Es- 

 tate but what is there made irom Funrcro^a fibre. He ex- 

 hibits (a) sample of a leaf , cut and buried in damp sand for 

 a fortnight, aud afterwards beaten and washed on a stone ; 

 (/)) sample of rope made by hand, one man doing 40 yards 

 per day (c) sample of stout cord, made in same way at GO 

 yards per day; and (rf) smaller cord at 120 yards per day. 

 He also says that it takes 6 leaves to make a pound of fibre ; 

 but that it'maturesin 2^ to 3 years. This differs from Dr. 

 Suthei-land's account ; but probably the iatt-er speaks oft lie 

 maximum growth while Sir. Blarney does not. From the 

 nature of the information obtained, your (^ommitfce can 

 come to but one conclusion ; and that is— that thccidtivation 

 of the^Joi/rr/v/yfl should he strongly recommended. In ad- 

 dition to the apparent profitable nature ofths enterprize, 

 tliere are strong reasons for this recommendation. It is :i iwavs 

 advisable to have the i)roducts grown in a country of many 

 varieties, not only on account of climatic \ ariation, but also 



