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moves the skin, and the pressure on the table enables the table to remore 
the fleshy substance. -It is usually pulled but once; that is to say,” when 
the strip is placed under the knife ; about two feet. remain on the side of | 3 
the operator, which. he grasps to pull it through ; this done, he turnsit, 
placing the other end under the knife, and grasping the end which now 
shows only the fibre, he by the second pull finishes. this’part of the pro- 
cess. The handful of threads or fibres is then placed with others ona 
branch of tree, or peg, in the side of his hut, till a quantity is accuma- 
Jated. Hung up in this way for an hour or two, the fibres are dried’and 
fit for merchandise. 'T. M. M. thinks that very little, at the most_not a 
he also thinks it undergoes a second process, being passed under a sort of 
saw. T.M.M. supposes this to be only a bad way of performing the 
process just described, it being much easier to draw the strip under a 
saw than under a knife. Butasa much larger portion of the skin is left 
adhering to the fibres in this way, it is much less valuable. ‘The process 
by the knife is so tedious, that i men will ay only Sas 0 
a, in an ordinary day's work os 
"The ‘but i 
the hemp (i.e. plantain) fibres are ver very fine, they place the women who 
weave it ander a cover or shade, because the. ad easily breaks the 
stretched out. ‘Although the aac strong, yet it is inferior to linen 
thread, and to thread of E hemp, both in respect of strength and 
inthe gloss and touch. Hemp (i. e. of the AP ce RT of good 
Sears inert -and in other parts, but not equal in 
; of C 3 
