48 



prises the bulk of the interior of the leaf, is crushed, beaten, 

 and scraped away by blunt knives fastened to 2 rapidly revolving 

 drums. 



The sisal juice contains very strong acids that are destructive 

 to all sorts of common materials, — iron, cement, leather, wood, 

 etc., — with the exception of bronze. All working parts of the 

 <iisal machine that come in contact with the sisal juice are there- 

 fore constructed of bronze. In some machines streams of water 

 play upon the fiber as the latter passes through the scutching 

 wheels. 



The fiber is taken directly from the machine to the drying 

 yard where it is spread out in the hot sunshine to dry and bleach. 

 It is laid fiat on the smooth floor of crushed coral and turned 

 once. This process requires about 6 hours. The dry fiber is 

 well brushed, so that all the fibers are parallel with one another. 

 The short, kinked, and waste fiber is sorted out. Finally the 

 fiber is baled into bales weighing about 700 lbs. The baling box 

 is 4'6"x2T/'x2'6'' and is operated by screw or hydraulic pres- 

 sure. The bales require no covering, and are tied with ropes made 

 of the fiber. They are conveyed to the wharf at Honolulu by the 

 railroad. 



During the past two years experiments have been carried on 

 in Hawaii to produce a hybrid sisal derived from the two parents 

 elongata and sisalana. It is hoped that this hybrid will produce 

 the superior qualities of fiber from the sisalana and partake of 

 the much desired quality of long life of the henequen. Experi- 

 mentation of this kind is not known by the authors to have been 

 attempted in any other part of the world. 



There are also under way, in Hawaii, chemical investigations 

 of the waste product. These studies indicate that valuable prop- 

 erties are undoubtedly latent in the sisal wastes. 



It is to be greatly regretted that many of the uses of sisal and 

 its numerous varieties have passed out with the passing of a 

 great race, the Toltecs, who thoroughly understood the culture 

 and uses of this plant. 



