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Sisal in the Hawaiian Islands 



By Vaughan MacCaughey, Professor of Botany, ColUge of 

 Haivaii, and William W'einkich. Fibre Expert. 



Sisal is second only to cotton in being the most extensively 

 used fibre in the United States. Its importance as the basis of 

 binder-twine is steadily increasing. It is a tropical crop, how- 

 ever, and is practically unknown to the average American farmer. 

 The peninsula of Yucatan is the greatest sisal-producing region 

 in the world, and supplies 90 per cent of the world's sisal. 



The only important sisal-growing portion of the United States 

 is the Territory of Hawaii. Sisal has been raised successfully 

 in the Hawaiian Islands for over two decades, and is now firmly 

 established as an important agricultural industry. There has 

 been no recent or comprehensive account of the sisal industry 

 in Hawaii, and the present paper undertakes to give an up-to- 

 date statement concerning this valuable crop plant. 



Sisal fibre owes its name to the fact that it was first exported 

 through the port of Sisal, Yucatan, just as Manila hemp received 

 its name from its chief shipping point. Sisal is derived from the 

 leaves of two closely related plants, — Agave rigida var. elongata 

 Baker, the henequen, and var. Sisalaua Engelman, the true sisal. 

 Both are native to Yucatan. They belong to the Amaryllis fam- 

 ily and are similar in appearance to the ornamental agaves. The 

 two common names for this plant are maguey and century plant. 

 All species of this group are natives of Mexico. They furnish a 

 variety of economic products, among which fibre, cloth, a food, 

 soap, pulque, and mescal are prominent. The Agaves flower so 

 infrequently in the temperate zone that they have long been 

 known under the misleading name of ''century plants". 



The sisal industry was probably started in Yucatan by the Tol- 

 tecs, who emigrated to Campeachy from Central America about 

 A. D. 1060. The economic value of the fibre was quickly per- 

 ceived by the early Spanish explorers, whose navy was in need 

 of cordage to replace the depleted stores of Manila hemp 

 (abaca). In 1783 a Spanish commission made investigations in 

 Yucatan, reported favorably, and industrial development began. 

 The plantations rapidly became so lucrative that the Spanish 

 owners made every effort to maintain a close nionopoly. No 

 plants suitable for propagation were permitted to leave the 

 country. When international courtesy demanded a few plants 

 for research, they were treated, before shipment, so as not to 

 grow. 



However, in 1836, before the value of the sisal monopoly had 

 been fully realized by the Spaniards themselves, Dr. Henry Per- 

 rine, United States Consul at Campeachy, introduced into Florida 



