370 Agricultural Gazette of N.S, W, [May 2, 1908. 



The tield is divideil iiii(j tliree sections, eauli of w liidi measures lOi chains, and is repre- 

 sentt'(l as follows : — A to F> first section, B to C second section, C to D tliird section ; in 

 the middh' of each runs an interval of jn'opei- widtli liaving a de[)th on either side within 

 each section of about ."> chains. 1'he short lines drav\n acnjss nidicate the rows of lieinj) 

 between which the cutter works, and tlieret'ore has — while cutting in any section— a 

 distance of not more than 5 chains to carry the leaves to the interval, wliere the cart 

 gets loaded. Each section has its boundary line, as is shown from B to E. It will be 

 found, if this plan is adopted, how much the carriage of the leaves is facilitated, being 

 done (|uickly to tlie great interest of the cultivator. 



In tlic j'.ahanias many growers utilise tlie spaces between tiie rows of plants w ith 

 other crojis, even corn and cotton l)cing named, 'i'he jilaii will work well enough, pro- 

 vided the matter is not overdone, weeds are kept down, and tlie cost of keeping the land 

 ■clear lessened. Sweet potatoes, however, must nev«r be planted, as they cover soil and 

 Sisal plants alike, to the great injury of the latter. Sliade is jjarticularly had for growing 

 Sisal plants. During my recent visit to Florida the bad effects of shade upon large plants 

 was noted in several marked instanc(!s, the ))lants being less thrifty, and the leaves some- 

 times so spindling and tliin as to have lost their ligid hal)it, and to l)e bent and drooping. 

 In Mexico, according to an otHcial pnl)lication, henecpien plants receive two dressings 

 the first year, and one every year afterwards. 



Upon the subject of cultivation and care of the plantation, Mr. Edgar Bacon, writing 

 from tiie Bahamas, makes the following pointed suggestions : — Experienced growers use 

 650 plants to the acre, in rows 11 feet t)y 6 feet distant from each other. This will give 

 room for the labourers to walk between the rows without being wounded by the terrible 

 spurs, which, like a cluster of keen s])ears, make each })lant a menace to the unwary. 

 Besides this, the closer planting m (Uild result in the piercing of irmumerable leaves every 

 time the Avind blew, and the consequent destruction of much fibre. Stabs and biaiises 

 mean discoloration, and the expense of sorting damaged lots, apart from the proportional 

 loss would be ;in added and not insignificant item in the labour account of a plantation. 

 Many jieople wiio have caught the Sisal fever are ])latiting acre after acre, expecting 

 nothing less than that the farms, when ])lanted, will take care of themseves. To l)c 

 successful in this enterprise retpiires unceasing activity and care. One must be Argus- 

 eyed. One season of poor prices, with the consequent discouragement which is apt to 

 follow in the case of nine small proprietors out of ten, in a country where the peasantry are 

 all negroes, will result in an overgrowth of suckers and the poling of mature plants, till 

 nothing short of absolute clearing and stalling anew will save the farms. Tliere is no 

 cultivation where system and perseverance are more necessary to success. The dropping 

 of a seed from a single " pole,'" if not watched and attended to immediately, will produce 

 little spears enough to destroy a hundred plants, and I have frequently seen a dozen 

 suckers start up around and under the leaves of their parent. After such crowding the 

 leaves would be worthless even could they be reached ; but no man, unless arrayed in 

 metal armour strong and stout enough to \\ithstand the thrust of steel, wouhl be so 

 foolhai'dy as to attempt to jjenetrate such a growth. What 1 want to im]>ress is the fact 

 that without that ])atient and systematic care wiiiih I have nowhcie observed as charac- 

 teristic of the unled negro, a field of Sisal is as valueless as a field of mullein. 



All suckers should be removed, as they are a detriment to the old plants, and when 

 they are not needed for planting n&w fields they should be thrown away. In plautini; 

 them out in Yucatan, a little hole is dug and the plant introduced, after which it is 

 projipeil up by a few stones a.nd left to take care of itself. In setting out these suckers 

 in the mirsery, in Florida, they are ])Iaced 10 to \2 inches apart in rows. The plants are 

 reproduced in two ways — by means of the suckeis, which form about the bases of the mature 

 plants; and by means of the "pole plants,'" which form upon the branches of the 

 blossom-stalk or " pole" (sometimes CHlle<l a " mast") after the tulip-shajied fiowers have 

 faded and fallen. 



In Florida the age of maturity of a Sisal plant in the wild state is six oi' seven years. 

 At this time the plant blossoms, sending up its tlower-stalk or pole to the height of 15 to 

 •20 f.-et. 



After the tidi|)-shapeil blossoms have begun to wither, thci'e now starts forth from the 

 point of contact with the flower-stalk a bud, which develojjs into a tiny i)lant, which, 

 when grown to the length of several inclu-s, becomes detached and falls to the ground. 

 Such " pole plants" as come in contact with the soil take root, a.nd in a very short time 

 are large enoULdi to trans^ilant. A single "])ole"'or "mast"' produces from 1,000 to 

 2,000 plants, while only a few suckers are formed at the base of each old plant. The 

 largest pole plants that 1 saw in Flori<la measured aliout 4 inclies in length But among 

 a lot received from Mr. George Bier, and that had never been in the sjil. was one which 

 measured 10 inches. 



In regard to the fiowering of the plants in the field, some writers state that the 

 appearance of the pole should be watched for, and the stalk cut out to prevent 



