372 AgncuUiiral Gazette of N.SJJ\ [May 2, 1008. 



Regarding yield, size of leaves, &c., in the Bahamas, Mr. Rae, in his recent report, 

 makes the tdllowing statements : -'Y\w length of time re(|iiire(l for the produc^tioii of tiie 

 first cutting of leaves may, I think, safel\- be regarded as four years from the time of 

 planting. A great deal depeii Is upon tiie size of tlie plants wlien transplanted ; but if they 

 he of a suitaide size, say from 12 to 1.") inelics, witliout doubt the leaves will attain a 

 length of from 4 to 5 feet, and be fit to cut well within tlie periled named. I have seen 

 thousands of ])lants with leaves from '1 to .S feet long that have l)een growing only two 

 years. 1 have also seen ])]ants, tliat I was told were tliree years old, from which leaves 

 liad already been cut. For the present, the yield i)er aci'e with us can only be a matter 

 of calculation, iu conseijuence of tlie industry having been so recently begun, but 

 sutHcient positive expei'ience has been derived to determine this point witii appioximatc 

 accuracy. The number of leaves cut from many, j)lants of four years' growth and 

 upwards has given an average of 40 leaves per tiee. with an average weight of H lb. 

 per leaf, and a yield of 4 per cent, of cleaned Hbre. With an average of 600 plants to 

 the acre, and 40 leaves weighing (iO lb. to each jdant, tiie yield would i>e 8G,0lJ<t II) of leaf 

 and 1,440 lb. of cleaned fii)re. If the estimate be reduced to S.> leaves, there would be 

 3l,.")0(l lb. of leaf, and 1,'2G<I lb. of fibi'c, and this is certainly a very modest estimate. 

 To guard against all pcjssible disappointment, however, the yield per acre can sifelj" be 

 placed at half a ton. 



.\Ir. Bier finds that while the Florida tiljre is somewhat finer- in texture, it is longer 

 and stronger than that gro\\n in \ utacan, and the weight of liljre in the leaf is a fraction 

 more in weight, the average per leaf of Yucatan being 400 grains, \\ idle ours averages 

 520 grains, with less moisture. 



iiiiliiii 



Tramway in a Plantation in Yucatan. 



According to .Mr. Preston's report on the liahamian culture, forty leaves may be cut 

 annually from a mature plant, at the average of U 11). to the leaf. On the basis of 

 650 plants to the acre, this yield gives a total of 39,000 lb. of leaves, or 19A tons. Mr. 

 Preston calls it 1!) tons, and at the rate of .'S'i.oO per ton (the value of the green leaves 

 before cleaning), we have .'?47.r)0 i)er acre, or almost double the vahu' stated by Mr. 

 Stoddart. On one of the farms visited by Mr. Preston in Yucatan, 4.S,<)00 leaves, or 

 7'2,000 lb. (3(3 tons), of crude material was cleaned daily. A yield of 5 ])er cent, of 

 fibre, which is his estimate, gives a little over 1^' tons of fibre per acre from the 36 tons 



