464 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1884. 



From the above it would seem that the grey aloe, 

 A>,ar.amncaua.\% utilized iu Mexico only for the 

 sake of its alcoholic juice, and that the source of the 

 fibre so largely exported from Mexico 13 not the 

 large greeu aloe, Fourcroya glgant.ea, but a dwarr plant 

 not yieldiuj; fibres cqualin length eveu to those of the 

 Marul or Neyanda of Ceylon (Scmseviera zcylamca) 

 For some months we have had beside us a trans 

 latiou of M. Chazal's pamphlet on the fabre induHry m 

 Mauritius, aud how it hae been made to pay we 

 cannot understand. The leaves of the gre^n nloe 

 have little more proportion of fibre than plautain-steina. 

 It is probable, after all, that the common aloe 

 (Anaveamencana) will be found the mo:it profitab e 

 to work in Ceylon, and, while awaiting the result 

 of practical experiments by Mr. Payne of Handrokande, 

 who has a laige supply of the raw material m his 

 properties and is working with a converged pulper 

 as also the trial of "Smith's machine" imported 

 bv Messrs John AValker & Co., we may give the tol- 

 lowiu" Indian official paper of useful information on 

 the subject, published two years ago :— 

 Ai.OE Fibre Experhsients. 

 The aloe, vernacular Kinva, Affave Americana, yrows freely 

 over most parts of Northern India. It is very hardy, at- 

 taiuiuK a favorable development under the varymg conditions 

 of belt, cold, drought, and moisture; this is particularly 

 noticeable in the lower hills, where the plant gro\ys m places 

 in which it would seem impossible to derive moistiii-c save 

 from rainfall, the scanty vegetation in the Punjab biwahks 

 having reduced the hygroscopic power of the sod to almost 

 a minimum. Yet amongst boulders, bare and and sanct, 

 out of clefts iu the conglomerate and freestone which 'crop 

 out" considerably iu these hills, the aloe vegetates with ease. 

 It will also grow in the Kangra Valley and Lovyer Himalayas 

 UD to 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. It is an excellent 

 hedge plant, impenetrable by man or beast, al ammals having 

 a wholesome horror of its sharp speai-hke points, lor 

 fences aud euclo.sures of all kinds, nothing could surpass it, 

 and it is a question whether for railways on this side of India, 

 aloe would not he cheaper than wire fencing, the only draw- 

 back being its slow growth, and the time it takes to form a 

 go.Hl stiff barrier. As a natnral defensive element m a system 

 of permanent fortification, .aloe would it is believed, he of 

 Seat service, especially when planted out at he "foot of 

 the glacis" along the bottom of the ditch, and on the su- 

 perior and extedor slopes of the parapets. A post or arme.y 

 work so environed would be safe from any attempt to carr. 

 Tw escalade, the boldest form,-even a (Jhuz>, well primed 

 and let oft at high pressure-would think twice before at- 

 tempting to force his way through a c'hem,'..v de J'-;^fJ°^' 

 nosed ol° Aoa^e Americam. The aloe does not .sulfer like 

 the C«°(«.s y»;/«<»- from the attacks of the cochineal insect, 

 and owing to the lirge amount of sap m the stalks, an aloe 

 hedge conld not be i=Jiited or fired by shell, «"-^»^». "^^0 

 Tc- projectiles could only make a clean round hole through 

 the' 6t.alks, which would in a great measure mitigate the 

 murderous effect of splinters from shrapnel and .shell- 



The preparation and use of aloe fibre scenis to have 

 beeu uuderstood in most couutries where the plant is met 

 with Kovle relates that in Mexico Humboldt s^aw a sus- 

 pension bridge 131' span, the main cables of which were 

 of aloe fibre -1" diameter. In South America, Spam, 

 Southern Italy, Algeria, the inhabitants of these countries 

 turn the fibre of the aloe into ™i-.ous uses, such as cloh, 

 mats rope, paper, fishing hues, &c. AV^hen twisted into 

 Tpe,' .aloefibre%ossesses%reat strength, aud will compare 

 favorably with " Hanx^'-Cvtalaym ju-ncea. Dr. Eoyle m 

 Mlexcellent work "The Fibrous Plants of India" says 

 that in a trial made at Calcutta, a rope of aloe fibre 3 

 chrcumference broke with a weight of fi,5 'J lb. whilst 

 rones made of •'coir," hemp, and jute, simdar in every 

 Jespect boke with ^eights'^of 2,176 ; 2,269 ; 2 4ob b. res- 

 pecn'veiv I" "» experiment made at Pans with Algerian 

 aloe aid hemp, both ropes being of equa ehmensious, the 

 former broke, under a weight of 2,000 kilogrammes, and 

 thoTtter with a weight only 400 kilogrammes, 1. kilo- 

 ^ran me^-2-204(i lb Ur. Koyle also mentions an experiment 

 fnade" t Toulon dockyard, where two ropes, one of hemp 

 and the other ol alo/, were tested, after a si:c mouths- 



immersion in sea water. Tlio former only bore a weight 

 of 2,5oS lb., whilst the latter cun-ied a weight=3,810 lb., 

 showing a clear surplus of strength of 1,272 lb. in favour 

 of the°aloe or pita. _ , ^ ,, , 



On the other hand a trial is quoted, made at Madras 

 Arsenal, where a coil of aloe rope was received at the 

 Arsenal, immersed in a tub of water for 24 hours and 

 then exposed to the open air, and after a few showers 

 of rain, was found to be quite rotten. The same results 

 were obtained after similar trials on various ships in the 

 Royal Navy. . . 



Kahars aud water-carriers make rope or this nbre m the 

 Punjab. It stands moisture fairlj;, and has oue great ad- 

 vantage viz, that, bulk for bulk, it is lighter than hemp 

 or 3Iv.sa tcxtilis. ... .., .. , ^, . 



During the early part of the year the writer of this 



paper endeavoured to see if the stalks of plantain, Musa 



paradisiaca, could not be utihsed for paper stuff or rope. 



A certain quantity of plantain fibre was prepared and tried, 



but it was disappointing to find that it was excessively 



weak- it would not stand "heckling;" the long, soft, 



fibre '36" to 43" long, would snap aud tear, . even when 



passe.l through the teeth of a fine h.air comb. Care was 



taKen not to steep the fibre at all. The operation was, 



as follows -.—The stalk was cut into lengths of four fpet, 



and divided by two cuts, at right angles to each other 



passiu" down the middle of the plant The shealhs of lengths 



of stalk were pas.sed between the iron rollers of a small 



sugar mill. One kind was quite sufficient. The strips of bark 



or more strictly speaking sheaths, were next laid on a clean 



washed board held in the left hand, and the operator, with 



a blunt piece of flat iron, or the back of a pruning knife, 



held in the right hand, firmly, though gently scraped 



off the green pulp and herbaceous matter. The strip 



was then turned over and scraped on the other side. 



AVben perfectly free from pulp aud other substances 



the strips of fibre were shaken and washed rapidly under 



a jet of water, put up to dry in the wind, and ag.ain 



taken down, slightly damped, and the fibres drawn out 



After tliis they were finally dried and ready for packing. 



The great drawback to the country plantain fibre is its 

 extreme delicacy and fragile nature, which of comse en- 

 hances the cost of production. Some specimens were 

 sent down to Calcutta to Messrs. 'Ahmuty & Co., asking 

 what price the fibre might fetch in the market. Theu: 

 replv was discouraging, inasmuch as they gave it as their 

 opinion that fibre of the description sent would not re- 

 alize more than E2-8 to K3 per maund in Calcutta. Sup- 

 posing that the introduction into Upper India of the 

 Mx^sa textilis, or even a plantain yielding a fibre superior 

 to the 3Iusa sapecutmn, were possible, it may not be 

 uuprofitable to ascertain what the fibre would cost, say, 

 landed in Bombay or Kurrachee. There are no means, 

 unfortuu.atelv, existing in India by which the cost of 

 production o"f plantain fibre can be determined, such an 

 industrv being unknown, certainly in the Punj.ib. But 

 assumiii" (1) the fibre to be good, and (2) that the cost 

 "of cultivation is more than covered by the viihie of the fruit 

 —we have all the stalks and resulting fibre to the good. To 

 make the concern pay, the working establishment would 

 have to stand at not less than the following strength :— 

 Two men to cut up and slice the sialics ; 3 boys to carry 

 the stalks to the mill ; 1 pair of bullocks to work the 

 mill- 2 boys to attend and scr\e the mill, as well as 

 to distribute the fibre to 15 women who would wash, 

 scrape, and clean, each, 10 lb. of fibre per diem.— 

 .-. 10 X 15 = 150 lb. 



Daily wo'-king expenses would stand at R. A. p. 

 Ipair of bullocks ... ..- 8 



. pair 

 2 men @ 2 5 as.. 

 boys @ 1'5 „ ... 

 15 women (ffi 2 „ ... 



5 



7 



1 14 



3 2 



drying and packing 

 ?reight to Sea Port 



K 



A. P. 



4 



1 12 



Oontingeucies 



ES 7 



