VEGETABLE FIBERS. 547 



is accomplished by means of rude wooden implements!, two examples of 

 •which are preserved in the museum.* 



The first of these is a thin strip of wood, 2 feet in length by 5 iuehcs 

 wide, notched like a boot-jack at one end, the points, however, being 

 made very sharp. With this the leaf is sjilit into shreds, and afterwards 

 is scraped with the second instrument, a piece of very hard wood, 2 feet 

 long, shaped with three sides, g'iviug it a triangular apr)earance, and 

 forms three sharp scraping edges. Upon the two ends handles are 

 formed, and the implement is used in the same manner as a currier's 

 shaving-knife. 



A chemical process which dissolves the green, fleshy parts of the 

 leaves, leaving the fiber intact, ready for washing, has also been em« 

 ployed. 



In Yucatan the two varieties of the fiber are distinguished as the 

 Yashqui henequen, which produces the best quality, and the Sacqiii hene- 

 quen^ which gives the gi^eatest quantity. It is worked by machinery, 

 and from July, 1875, to June, 1876, Yucatan produced 22,000,000 pounds 

 of Henequen fiber, 18,000,(!00 pounds of which were sent to British 

 ports. The remainder was sent to Cuba and Mexico. I am unable to 

 give the figures as to the American importation in late years, but the 

 amount must be considerable, as the fiber is now in high favor as a cord- 

 age material, manufacturers claiming that it has been growing better 

 and better each year in quality. A few figiu-es are given in the latter 

 part of the flax and hemp report, under the heading " Other fibers," 

 which will give some idea of the amount consumed at present in this 

 country. A recent report, published in Yucatan, gives the following 

 figures : 



Taking 1-^ pounds of fiber for tlie yearly production of each Honcqnen plant, we 

 come to the couchisicu that at present there are more than 18,000,000 of plants under 

 cultivation. For this number of plants over 4*20 scraping-wbeels are in operation, 

 moved by 229 steam-engines, with a force of 1,732 horso-power, and 30 wheels moved 

 by animal power. Each scraping-wheel cleans daily, on an average, 300 pounds of 

 fiber ; so the 450 wheels in existence do not work at present 1G3 days in the year. 



It is estimated that in Yucatan alone a capital of over $5,000,000 is 

 invested in this industry. 



A peculiarity of this fiber is that it resists the action of dampness for 

 a greater length of time than hemi> or similar fibers, which makes it 

 very desirable in the manufacture of cable-ropes, &c., used in the riggiug 

 of ships. , 



In the Annual Eeport of this department for 18G9, page 257, there is 

 an article on " Jenequen, or Sisal hemp," to w^hich the reader is referred 

 for details of cultivation and preparation, though the article was doubt- 

 less written before the introduction of steam-mills and machinery, as 

 the native mode of treating the fiber only is described. I will quote 

 but a paragraph from this report in reference to the cultivation of "Jen- 

 equen," or Henequen, in the United States : 



There is little doubt that very considerable tracts of laud in our own Ciulf States 

 would be found suited to the production o£ Jenequen, and the introduction of so impor- 

 tant an agricultural staple would be the more desirable for the reason that arid laud, 

 so singularly adapted for i-aising Sisal hemp, would never justify the least outlay iu 

 money or labor for the raising- of any other crop. 



Samples of Sisal hemp leaves, fiber, and fine cordage were brought 

 by Dr. Parry from Santo Domingo and deposited in the museum. These 

 samples are very fine, and exhibit the strength and beauty of tlii.^ fiber. 



Fourcroya gigantea .—Vxmwt Lily. — This is also tlie Cabovja, or Cahija, 



* These were also presented to the department with the Perrine collection. 



