176 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Ahaca {Manila hemj)). — The annual consumption of abaca fiber 

 in the United States is approximately 500,000 bales. There is no 

 satisfactory substitute for this fiber, and with the exception of a 

 few hundred bales the entire world supply of abaca is produced in 

 a 'few Provinces in the Philippine Islands. Under these conditions, 

 the welfare of the Philippine abaca industry becomes a matter of 

 direct concern to every industry in this country that uses any form 

 of manila cordage in its operations. 



The principal elForts in the work with abaca have been (i) to main- 

 tain a close contact with the producers of abaca and the Government 

 fiber inspectors in the Philippine Islands and with the fiber brokers 

 and manufacturers of abaca cordage in this country, (2) to en- 

 courage and support the work that is being done by the JPhilippine 

 Bureau of Agriculture to maintain the production of an adequate 

 supply of abaca fiber that is of satisfactory quality, and (3) to con- 

 duct investigations in the Canal Zone and Panama with a view to 

 the establishlnent of the abaca industry in tropical America. 



In certain respects there has been a. marked improvement in the 

 general abaca situation during the year. Production, which declined 

 nearly 50 per cent during 1921, is again nearly normal. The large 

 stocks of old, deteriorated fiber in Manila, the ultimate disposition of 

 which was a very serious problem, have been reduced by more than 

 100,000 bales. The average quality of the abaca fiber produced dur- 

 ing the year 1921-22 has been maintained at a higher standard than 

 that of the previous year. In the maintenance of this standard of 

 quality and in encouraging the disposition of the stocks of old 

 fiber, the work of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture has been 

 an important factor. The fact remains, however, that the abaca 

 planters are now receiving for their fiber prices that barely cover 

 the cost of production and that the abaca industry in the Philippine 

 Islands is in an unstable, if not precarious, condition. Unless there 

 is some improvement in the near future there can be no doubt that 

 many planters will replace their abaca with coconuts and other 

 crops. 



An investigation has been made during the year in the Canal Zone 

 and Panama for the purpose of ascertaining whether it is advisable 

 to attempt the production of abaca in these regions. The conditions 

 cf soil and climate in the Canal Zone, while not entirely favorable, 

 are such as to justify experimental nursery planting. The condi- 

 tions in the eastern part of the Republic of Panama indicate that 

 abaca can be produced on a commercial scale in that country. Pre- 

 liminary arrangements have been made with the proper Government 

 officials in the Canal Zone for the establisliment of nurseries, and 

 negotiations are in progress for obtaining the required propagating 

 stock in the Philippine Islands. 



It has been ascertained that the so-called Manila hemp now 

 cultivated in Panama is not one of the recognized varieties of Musa 

 textilis^ but is a plant that closely resembles the wild banana of the 

 Philippine Islands. The wild banana when grown in the Philippines 

 produces a fil)er greatly inferior to abaca. As tlie m.ore or less gen- 

 eral belief that abaca fiber of satisfactory quality can be produced 

 only in the Philippine Islands is based, in part at least, on a knowl- 



