166 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 24, 1913. 



WEST INDIAN COTTON. 



Messrs. Wolstenholme and Holland, of Liverpool, 

 write as follows, under date May '>, with reference 

 to the sales of West Indian Sea Island cotton : — 



Only a small business has taken place in Wist Indian 

 cotton since our last report. The sales amount to fiO hales, 

 which include St. Kitts and .'Antigua \9d. to 20-^/., Nevis 

 IShd. to 19(i. and St. Vincent at 23d. 



Prices are firm but spinners having fair stocks and poor 

 enquiry for yarn, are not eager buyers. 



The report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea Island cotton in the Southern States, for the week 

 ending May -i, is as follows: — 



There have been no receipts or sales reported this week; 

 consequently the market remains unchanged. Although 

 Factors are holding the odd bags of off cotton, of which the 

 ■stock is largely composed, for one to two cents advance, 

 which has not been paid. 



We cjuote, viz: 

 .Extra Fine 28c. to 29c. = IQd. to IGirf. c.i.f., &5 per cent. 

 Fully Fine 26c. to 27c. = 14^d. to 1.5Jd. „ „ ,, „ 

 Fine 2.5c. = 14}^. „ „ ,, „ 



Extra Fine otTK,., = \-yid 



in preparation J 



Fully Fine off Kg^ ^^ oqc. = lOJd. to lUd. „ „ „ ., 

 an preparation j 



Fine nfiin ) jg^ ^ jqi^ _^ _^ _ __ 



preparaiion J 



This report shows that the total exports of Sea 

 Island cotton from the United States to Liverpool, 

 Manchester and Havre, up to ilay :}, 1913, were n(;l 

 bales, :],1()<) bales, and 4,40.S bales, respectively. 



The best situations for the cultivation of Zipupe are 

 gently sloping plains, or the lower slopes of mountains, with 

 a fairly rich soil of not too porous a nature. .-Vs the plant is 

 essentially tropical, it will not dourish at high altitudes. It 

 is u.sually propagated by means of suckers, which are 

 removed from the parent plant when a few inches high, and 

 planted in specially, prepared nurseries. After about eight 

 to ten months the plants, now 1 or 2 feet high, are removed 

 to their permanent qu-irters and set in rows 7 feet apart, 

 with a distance of ') feet between the plants. 



The cutting of the leaves is begun when the plants are 

 four or live years old, and may be continued for a period of 

 about eight or ten years, when the plant produces a large 

 inflorescence, bearing numerous bulbils, which may be used 

 for propagation. An average of about eighty leaves, giving 

 a total yield of about 2itb. of fibre, is obtained per annum 

 from each plant in three cuttings. 



Two .samples of /apupe fibre have been examined 

 recently at the Imperial Institute, with the results givea 

 below: — 



No. 1. This sample consisted of well-cleaned and well- 

 prepared, lustrous fibre, almo.st white, and of good strength. 

 The length of staple was irregular, in some cases reaching 

 4 feet 8 inches. 



The fibre was analyzed with the following results, 

 compared with corresponding figures for Mauritius hemp 

 and for sisal hemp from the East Africa Protectorate: — 



/apupe Mauritius Sisal hemp. 

 fibre. hemp. 



Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 



ZAPUPE FIBRE. 



Dttinite enquiries have recently been made at 

 "the Office of this Department for information on the 

 newly introduced Zapupe fibre. The following article, 

 containing a general account of the fibre, has been 

 taken from the BuUelin of Hip Imperial Institute for 

 January-March 191.'}: — 



Considerable intere.st has been taken in recent years in 

 Zapupe fibre, which has been introduced into commerce as 

 a substitute for sisal hemp. As in the case of the latter 

 fibre, /.ipupe is obtained from the leaves of certain species 

 of Agave, but the exact botanical source is unknown. The 

 llant occurs wild in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, and has 

 been cultivated in the Canton of Tuxpam in that State since 

 about 1901 or 1902. The plant is stated to give better 

 results under varied conditions of .soil and climate than sisal, 

 and as it requires little attention in cultivation it seems 

 probable that, once its value is known, its cultivation will be 

 taken up in other countries. 



Moisture 



Ash 



A-Hydrolysis, loss 



P)-Hydrolysis, loss 



Acid purification, loss 



Cellulose 



1112 

 1-2 



11-8 



1.5-7 

 2 7 



773 



ISO 

 2-5 

 7 5 



18 3 

 20 



764 



111 

 10 



11-2 



141 

 2-3 



78-2 



T u r ( From 005 to From 05 to From 06 to 

 Length of I q 14 in. 015 in. 016 in. 



ultimate fibres 



I aver. 094 in. 



It is evident from these figures that the Zapupe fibre 

 approximated very closely to sisal hemp in chemical behavioir 

 and composition, and that it was Romewhat superior to the 

 sample of .Mauritius hemp, with which it is compared, this 

 superiority being shown particularly by the smaller loss on 

 Bhydrolysis (i.e. boilirg for one hour with 1 per cent. 

 caustic alkali). 



No. 2. This sample consisted of strong, lustrous, well- 

 cleaned and well-prepared fibre of rather irregular colour, 

 varying from cream to brownish-yellow, and generally darker 

 than sample 1. The length of staple was irregular, up to as 

 much as 4 feet 4 inches. This sample was not submitted to 

 chemical examination. 



The specimens were submitted to a firm of fibre merchants, 

 who staled that they had not previously seen such good 

 specimens of Zapupe fibre, adding that the samples were of 

 good growth and especially well prepared. They valued No. 1 

 at about £32, and No. 2 at £'-W per ton in London (January 

 1913), with Mexican sisal at £34, and best quality 

 Mauritius hemp at £28 to £30 per ton. 



This Zapupe filire should always be readily saleable in the 

 United Kingdom, but the valuations given above are consider- 

 ably higher than usual, owing to the recent increase in the 

 price of sisal and other cordage fibres. 



