VEGETABLE FIBERS. 539 



Thej have been cultivated from tlie most remote times, iu tropical cli- 

 mates, in subtropical Asia, America, and Africa, and tlie islands of tlie 

 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, for the saliie of the fruits. In the Phil- 

 lippine Isles, where it is most used for its fiber, the plant is found in both 

 a wUd and cultivated state. The natural groves, however, are consid- 

 ered proi^erty. 



The Aiaca is ciat wlieii about one year and a half old, just before its flowering or 

 fructification is likely to appear. If cut earlier, the fibers are said to he shorter but 

 finer. It is cut near the roots, and the leaves cut off jnst below their expansion. It 

 is then slit open longitudinally, and the central peduncle separated from the sheath- 

 ing layers of libers, which in short are the petioles of the leaves. 



The fibrous coats, when stripped off, are left for a day or two in the 

 shade to dry, and are then divided lengthwise into strips three inches 

 wide. They are then scraped with an instrument made of bamboo, until 

 only the fibers remain. AYhen sufficiently scraped, the bundles of fibers 

 may be shaken into separate threads, after which they are sometimes 

 washed, then dried and picked, the finest being separated by women 

 with great dexterity. 



After the fiber has been cleaned in this manner, it is ready for the 

 manufacture of cordage, and for all purposes where a coarse fiber is 

 employed. The fine fiber, however, which is to be used for weaving, 

 undergoes the still further operation of beating, which is performed with 

 a wooden mallet, which renders the fiber soft and pliable, it having first 

 been made up into bundles. The separate filamenis are then fastened 

 together at their ends by gumming; it is wound into baUs, and is then 

 ready for the loom. Sometimes it is dressed like flax, on a kind of 

 hackle, and afterwards washed many times in running water until per- 

 fectly free from aU extraneous matter, after which it is hung over poles 

 or ropes to dry. 



M. Perron ttel, a French botanist, in the ^^Annales Maratinies et Colon- 

 tales du France,^^ states that the Abaca of the Phillippines differs essen- 

 tially from all the varieties of banana known. Its stem is 15 to 20 feet 

 high, of a dark green color, and very smooth on its surface. Its leaves 

 are of the same color, long, straight, with strongly marked nerves. The 

 fruit is small and triangular, resembling abortive bananas, and scattered 

 here and there near the extremity of the fruit-stem. The plant requires 

 a rich humid soil, and flourishes in thick forests at thebase of the moun- 

 tains, where it acquires in a short time an extraordinary development. 

 In regard to the capability of the Abaca for the manufacture of fine 

 fabrics, the writer says : 



Of the finer sort tissues or muslins are made of great beauty, which are very dear, 

 even ia Manila. I had a number of shirts made from the muslin, which lasted me a 

 Tery long time, and were cool and agreeable iu the use. But it is especially iu France 

 that tissues of this material are best made and of the greatest beauty. They receive 

 all colors with equal periection. Veils, crapes, neckerchiefs, robes, and women's hats 

 — all of great beauty and high cost, as well as of wonderful diu-abiJity — are among the 

 manufactures from the fibers of Abaca. Besides these are various articles of men's 

 wear, such as shirts, vests, pantaloonsj &c. 



Another author mentions that beautiful shawls are made from it. 



In the monthly report of this department for 1872, page 3G5, there is 

 a communication on this subject by a resident of the Phillippine Isles, 

 from which it will be seen that as late as 1872 no other method of ex- 

 tracting the fiber than the laborious scraping, described above, has been 

 devised. Two men will out and scrape about 25 pounds of the fiber in 

 a day, the man that cuts the trees transporting them, stripping the 

 layers, and cleaning the scraped fiber, though it is thought this is above 



