June i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



803 



v.— SISAL HEMP. 



T'nder this term are iucliieled fibres derived from 

 probably more than one species of Agave, and it is 

 probable al.-o that one species of l'urcr;ea is used. 

 According to the locality where tlie industry is cnrried 

 on or the port of shipment the fibre produced in 

 Yucatan is called Sisal Hemp, which is the recognised 

 uaa\e iu the English market ; or Jeuequen or Hene(iuen 

 Hemp, which would appear to be the terra more 

 commonly used in the I 'nited States. Pita is another 

 Central American fibre but whether the produce of 

 an Agave (A. ameruanu) or of a Eromeliad (karatas 

 Fliniiieri) is not quite clear. Probably it is loosely 

 applied to both.* 



As regards the species of Agave yielding Sisal Hemp 

 Miller first described A. ri;/ida (Diet. Ed. 8, 1768) 

 in the following words: — Long, narrow, stiff leaves, 

 " entire, and terminated by a stiff black spiue. These 

 " leaves are seldom more than two feet long, little 

 " more than an inch broad, being of a glaucous colour. 

 " The side leaves stand almost horizontally but the 

 " centre leaves are folded over each other and 

 " enclose the flower-bud." 



This may be accepted in a large sense as the re- 

 presentative species of which there are several sub- 

 species and varieties cultivated by the natives of 

 Yucatan from time immemorial. 



According to Dr. Engelmann (Trans. Acad. Science. 

 St. Louis, Vol. III., Dec. 1.^75) a common native 

 species in Yucatan called Chelem by the aboriginal 

 inhabitants is identical with Aijave riijida of Miller ; 

 but a number of varieties, characterised by longer 

 leaves or the absence of spines, have been recognised, 

 to which names more or less distinct are now applied. 



Mr. Jjaker has given a Synopsis of the Genus, 

 Agave in the (rfinleiirr.-i' Cinouicle (^^ols. Vll and "\[I1I, 

 New Series, 1877). The plants mentioned below are 

 included under the Group Eiqidae, having the edge 

 of the thin hornj- leaf without any distinct border, 

 and the teeth (when present) small but distinct and 

 deltoid. He remarks that this is a considerable group 

 of which ,1. luridn and A. riffida may be regarded 

 as the types intermediate between the groups Americauae 

 and Aluidttit'. 



From a study of plants at Kew, Mr. Baker was 

 inclined to look upon A. I.rfli, Karw., as the type 

 and A. riyidu, Mill., A. clotigain, Jacobi, and ,(. 

 Sindlana, Perrine, as synonyms or varieties. But as iu 

 the first place A. rif/ida. Mill., has the prioritj' in 

 point of time, and (if we follow Dr. Engelmann) 

 also represents the old aboriginal fibre plant of Yu(tatan 

 (the Chelein), it would be better to retain this as 

 the aggregate species and place the others among 

 the varieties whicli have arisen in course of long 

 cultivation in different parts of the peninsula of 

 Yucatan. 



We have then. 



A. RiGiD.\, Jim. 



var. 1. A. Ixtli, Karw.; A. i.vtlioides, H. K. 

 leaves li — 2 ft. long, teeth distant. 



2. A. eloiKjata, Jacobi: leaves 4 — 5 ft, 



glaucescent and toothed. 



3. A. Siiahtuo, Perrine; leaves 4 — 6 ft. 

 long, pale green not glaucous, generally 

 without teeth. 



Dr Engelmann in his notes cited above mentions 

 that the original plants of .4. rKjida, was, according 

 to Miller, brought from Vera (Jruz, but his own speci- 

 men.s were collected in Yucatan by Dr. Schott. He 

 states that Dr, Perrine, and Dr. Schott independently 

 studied and described in Yucatan this interesting plant, 

 with its different forms and economic uses (Senate 

 Doc. 3(10, AVashington, March 12th, 1538; the latter 

 in the Report of the Agricultural Department at 

 AVa.shiugtou for 18G9. According to Dr. Engelmann, 



* According to Miller Pita fibre is derived from 

 Fnrcrira rjiijautea which would make it identical with 

 Mauritius Hemp. Dr. Perrine on the other hand 

 mentions Aaave Ixtli "as furnishing a fine fibre called 

 Pita." 



" both agree that there is a common na'ive ^pecies in 

 '' Yucatan, called Clideiii by the aboriginal inhabitants ; 

 " but from time immemorial a number of varieties, 

 " all characterised by much longer leaves, and one also 

 " by the absence of marginal spines, and differing 

 " among themselves in the ([uantity and quality of 

 " their fibre, have been cultivated by the natives of 

 " Yucatan, and are a staple product of that country 

 " to this day, furnishing the well known Sisal Hemp. 

 '• the people know them as Jfnequcn (Schott) or Henc- 

 " '/?'«/( (Perrine), and distinguish, as Dr. Schott reports, 

 " the Yavci (Yasbki) as furnishing the best quality, 

 " and the Saccl (Sacqui) with the largest quantity of 

 " fibre. Chucmnci, larger than the last, produces c'oar- 

 '• ser fibre ; Bahci has fine fibre, but iu smaller quan. 

 " tity ; Gitaiiici, with small narrow leaves and poor 

 " fibre, stands probably nearest to the wild plant. 

 " Dr. Perrine mentions another variety latle, evidently 

 " the Lvth of Karwinski, as furnishing a fine fibre, 

 " called fita. The.se plants yield a return of leaves 

 '• when four or five years old, and may last 50 or 

 " GO years under proper management ; the flowering 

 " scape is cut off as soon as 4 feet high, when, evidently, 

 " axillary branches continue the growth of the plant, 

 " which is thus kept so long alive by being prevented 

 " from flowering. 



" The trunk of the wild plant of Yucatan, which 

 •' I refer with little doubt to Miller's old .4. rigida, 

 "is 1—2 feet high; leaves IJ— 2 feet long, and as 

 " many inches wide, contracted above the broader base 

 " and widest about the middle ; lateral teeth } or 

 •• even 1 inch apart, mostly straight, from a broad 

 " base 1 — 2 lines long, rather unequal, with smaller 

 " ones interspersed, dark brown; terminal spine 1 inch 

 " long, 1| lines in diameter, straight, or often some- 

 " what twisted, terete, scooped out at base but not 

 " channelled, dark red-brown, a dark corneous margin 

 " extending down the leaf-edge for several inches and 

 " bearing . the uppermost teeth. Scape 12—15 feet 



" high ; flowers pale yellowish green, 



•:> L oi 



2i inches 



" long, perigone Ki, tubes (j — 7, lobes 9—10 lines long; 

 " stamens inserted about the middle of the tube, ' blood- 

 " red upwards,' 1-inch longer than the perigone ;an- 

 " thers 10— 10§ lines long ; styles at last as long as 

 " stamens. 



" A. I,vll{, which in ls72 flowered in the gardens 

 " of the late Jl. Thuret at Antibes, is entirely similar, 

 " flowers of the same dimensions, anthers a little 

 " larger (IH lines long) ; capsules, which grow with 

 " the bulbs on the same panicle, oval, over 2 inches 

 " long, Ij wide, very short stipitate ; seeds uncommonly 

 '• large, 4^ lines high, with a ventral hilum (in many 

 " other Agaves I find the hilum of more basal", 

 "a rdiaracter which may be of some value). I believe 

 " this is the first time that the flowers of the Ixtli 

 "have been described;* they identify the plant with 

 " the old A. rif/ida, or at least the above described 

 " Chelem. -4. Kartrindii, Zucc, is probably the same 

 " thing. 



" AVith the name of hmfjifolia I designate the 

 "variety known as tSacci (Sacqui) and extensively 

 " cultivated in Yucatan ; it is principallj' distinguished 

 " by its much longer spiny leaves, A— oh feet long, 

 "3 — 4| inches wide; flowers very similar "to those of 

 "the wild plant, but filaments greenish. A. fo-'iv- 

 "c-ro//0!VZc6. Jacobi, Agav. p. 107, probably belongs here, 

 "and A. donnata, Jacobi, p. 10s, I would also refer 

 " to this form if the description did not expressly 

 " mention a chanelled terminal spine. 



" Atjave 8is(iliina is the name that Dr. Perrine gave 

 " to the plant known to the natives of Yucatan as 

 " yaxci, the most valuable of the fibre- producing Agaves, 

 "which was introduced by him into South Florida 

 " some thirty-five or forty years ago, during his efforts 

 •' to pccliniatize commercially valuable tropicil plants 

 "in that almost tropical portion of our territory, 

 " efforts which were aided by Congress by a large 

 <' grant of land, but which were destroyed tncpther 



* This rem Ilk made by Dr. Fngelmiinin l^i2 g, 

 however, not (piite correct. Th" ix Ho '/t.s form iA(/xie 

 J.rth) were fully described : nd figured ly Sir J. D, 

 Hooke* from a plant which flowered at Few iq 1^71. 

 (Eot. j\J{vg. t. 5:93.) 



