378 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. W. \_31ay 2, 1908. 



acre, while GGO is considered al)i)Ut the iiiaxiinuiii iimnl)ci-. In the ]>aliaiiias the idantini; 

 is somewhat closer. When a jthmlation is once established it may he profitablj^ worked 

 for a lifetime, care being t.iken not to Ic^t the plants pole or become exhausted from over- 

 cutting, in a large plantation drives ai-e left at convenient intervals to facilitate the 

 easy removal of leaves. 



Without doubt theiv are considerable tracts of scruli land in this State, 

 especially bordering the coastal areas, whereon the cultivation of Sisal mii^ht 

 prove to be a })rotitil)le means of utilisin<j; a class of country which is not 

 otlierwise likely to l)c \n\{ tu any usct'iil piujiosc. Trivate ctil crpriscs iiiav do 

 something under the stiniuhit iiig inlluence of, a bonus, l)ut pcrha[)s it might 

 be ])ossil)le for the Governnicnl to show the wav. 



Musa Textilis. -Manila Hemp. 



Abaca fibre is obtained fiom a plant similar to the ordinary banana jdaiit. 

 In a report issued by officials of 1 lie Uureaii of Insular AM'airs, Washington, 

 U.S.A., respecting the production of Abaca in the Philippine Islands, the 

 following particulars are given : - 



The first stalks are ready for cutting at from twenty months to three years after 

 planting. The time re(juired for develoi)inent varies consideral)ly with different varieties 

 and in different localities. After tlie first har\est it is customary to cut over a plantation 

 about every eight months. 



The abaca plant when mature consists of a group or cluster of from twelve to twenty 

 stalks, all growing from the one root, 'i'hese stalks are in all stages of development, but 

 usually two or three will mature and can be cut at al)out the same time. The stalk is 

 ready for cutting between the time of the appearance of the fiovver and the development 

 of the fruit. If cut either before or after this perioi an inferior ((uality of fibre will le 

 obtained. When the plant is in flower the large violet-coloured flowered bracts fall to 

 the ground, making it an easy matter when passing through the field to select the i)lants 

 which are I'eady for cuttmg- 



The stalk is cut with a bolo knife having a sharp blade. Tiie cutting should be made 

 two or three inches from the ground and on a slant. If a pei'fectly liori/.ontal cut is made, 

 water will collect on the stumj), causing it to rot, and thus injuring the root and the 

 remaining shoots. After tl;e stalk has l)eencut the leaves are trinuned off, and it is then 

 reidy for the first operation of fibre extraction. 



Extraction of Fibre. 



The extraction of fibre should commence within t« enty-four hours after the cutting of 

 the stalk. If left a longer time than this, tiie fibre is liable to become discoloured and 

 weakeued. As the abaca trunk is heavy and the fibre-extracting apparatus is light and 

 easily transported, it is customary to move the latter from pi ice to place, and to extract 

 the fibre near the spot where tlie plant is cut. 



The trunk or stalk of abaca is often 12 feet or 1.") feet long, and from 1 foot to 1 V feet 

 in diameter. This trunk consists of a small central Hcshy stem, 1 inch or 2 inches in 

 diameter, around which are a number of thick overlapping layers, each layer being the 

 stem or petiole, of a leaf. The fibre is obtained from the outer portion of these leaf 

 stems. The process of fibre extraction consists of two distinct operations ; first, the 

 removal of the ribbon-like strips of fibrous material from the leaf stems ; and second, the 

 separation of the individual fibres by ])ulling these ribbons under a knife. 



The lalxuuer, sitting on the ground with a trunk of abaca across his knees, insei'ts under 

 the bark of one of tiie leaf stems a small shari) piece of bone called a " locnit," and pulls 

 off a fibrous strip 1 inch to 3 inches wide, and as long as the trunk. One stem will yield 

 two or three such strips. When these fibrous strips have been taken off the remaining 

 fleshy material is removed, and each consecutive layer is thus worki'd down to the central 

 stem of the trunk. The fibre obtained from the three or four outer layers, which are 

 green and hard, will be coarse and dark-coloured, while that coming from the layersnearest 

 the centre of the trunks will be very fine an<l white. 'I'he latter is not always stri])|)ed by 

 the natives, as it is too liable to break untler the knife, but, when extracted by this 

 method, is used only for the manufacture of various kinds of cloth. When a quantitj^ 

 of these fibre strips has been collected, they are carried to some central point where a 

 shed has been erected and an api)aratus set ujj for stripping the fibre. The shed consists 



