VAHIOrS PRODUCTS 131 



according to some tests that were made, being : 

 Silk 34 lb., Phormium 23 ^ lb., Eussian hemp 

 16| lb., flax 11 J lb., Agave Americana 7 lb. 

 In the market it takes rank as cordage between 

 sisal and Manila hemp, but it can also be used 

 for making dress fabrics, handkerchiefs, and 

 canvas. The leaves of Phormium are soft and 

 flaggy and not spinous, facts that would appeal 

 very strongly to the African labourer, for whom 

 the handling of sisal and fourcroya leaves is 

 rough, hard labour. 



Many attempts have been made to get away 

 from the machine process of manufacture known 

 as " stripping," in the hope of getting better 

 results by scraping, rolling, or chemical cleansing, 

 but none of these have succeeded, and the stripper 

 is still the indispensable means for separating 

 the green vegetable sheath or covering from the 

 fibre. 



After passing through the stripper, the fibre 

 is washed and then exposed to sun and air for 

 drying and bleaching. 



It then goes through the process of scutching. 

 Scutching machines vary a good deal in detail 

 of construction, often being built at the mill in 

 accordance with the proprietor's or manager's 

 ideas. 



If the tow or waste fibre is of value it is usual 



