ANNIVERSARY NUMBER 1919 



51 



on its resources. Besides having lasting 

 fertility, the soil should also be of medium 

 consistency so as to allow the plant to benefit 

 by the constant supply of moisture without 

 the soil becoming oversaturated. 



Description of the plant. The abaca is a 

 perennial plant 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 

 feet) high. When mature it consists of a 

 group, or cluster, of from 12 to 30 or more 

 stalks of different stages of development. 

 The stalk is cylindrical, 2-^ to 6 meters (8 

 to 20 feet) long, and is formed by the over- 

 lapping of the leaf sheaths. The sheaths 

 grow from the fleshy, central core, which is 

 the real stalk, until the sheath formation is 

 completed, when the flower bud developes 

 and forms the flowering spike. The flower* 

 are borne in clusters subtended by a large 

 membranous bract. The first few bracts 

 which subtend the real flowers are larger 

 and more conspicuous than the rest which 

 subtend the false flowers. 



The abaca plant closely resembles the 

 banana. To the inexperienced eye, it is 

 rather difficult to distinguish the one from 

 the other. The abaca is ordinarily smaller 

 than the banana and its stalks are, as a rule, 

 more slender than those of the latter. The 

 aba'ca leaf is darker green, narrower, and 

 more tapering than that of the banana. The 

 petiole (leaf stalk) of the abaca leaf is of a 

 light-green color, while that of the banana 

 is grayish. 



Stalk formation. The abaca stalk con- 

 sists of a fleshy central core and a number 

 of overlapping sheaths. This core is a con 

 tinuation of the fleshy part of the root- 

 stock, and, as it grows, sheaths are formed 

 on its sides, chiefly at the base. When the 

 stalk reaches maturity sheath formation 

 stops, but the core keeps growing and forms 

 what is known as the "flower spike." The 

 central core, therefore, is really the flower 

 stalk, and its sheaths are prolongations of 

 the petioles of the leaves. This core dim- 

 inishes in diameter as it rises in the middle 

 of the stalk. Its diameter at the base of 

 the stalk varies from 15 to 35 centimeters 

 (6 to 14 inches), and at the top it rarely ex- 

 ceeds 5 centimeters (2 inches). 



The stalk consists of 12 to 25 sheaths, 

 depending on the variety and the extent 

 of growth. The middle sheaths alone are 



THE SAME FIELD AS SHOWS IS PRECEDING PICTURE, SIX MONTHS LATER 



ABACA PLANTS BETWEEN SIX AND TWELVE MONTHS 

 OLD. GROWS BY PROPER METHODS OF CULTURE 



exactly the same length as the stalk. The 

 exterior sheaths rise from the base of the 

 core but do not extend to the top of the stalk, 

 and the interior ones, which extend to the 

 top of the stalk, do not rise from the base but 

 at variable intervals above it. 



Fiber extraction. The abaca plant when 

 mature consists of a group of 12 to 30 stalks. 

 These stalks are in all stages of development, 

 but usually two to four can be harvested at 

 the same time. The stalk is mature at the 

 time of the appearance of the blossom, or 

 shortly before. As a rule no cutting should 

 commence before the plant is 2 to 3 years 

 old. After the first harvest subsequent 

 cuttingscan be madeevery four or six months. 



The process of fiber extraction consists, 

 of two distinct operations: First, the removal 

 of the ribbon-like fibrous strips from the 

 sheath; and, second, the separation of the 

 individual fibers by pulling these strips un- 

 der a knife. 



The laborer, sitting on the ground with 

 a stalk in front of him, inserts a small, sharp 

 piece of bone or bamboo into the sheath, 

 separates the fibrous strip and pulls it off 

 in two to four ribbons, varying from 5 to 8 

 centimeters (2 to 3.14 inches) in width and 

 as long as the sheath itself. When these 

 ribbons have been separated, the remainder 

 of the sheath is removed and thrown away 

 as waste. Each consecutive sheath is thus 

 worked until the central core of the stalk 

 is reached. 



When a sufficient quantity of these fiber 

 strips, or ribbons, has been collected, they 

 are tied in bundles and carried to the strip- 

 ping apparatus, which consists of a log set 

 in a horizontal position J^ to 1 metier (1-J^ 

 to 3 feet) from the ground, on top of which 

 is fastened a level block of smooth, hard wood 

 or bamboo. Over this block is placed a 

 knife about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long 

 with a handle 40 centimeters (16 inches) 

 long. Every strip is passed under the knife 

 twice, the second time to pull the butt end 

 which the operator holds in his grasp during 

 the first pull. This process of drawing un- 

 der the knife removes all the pulp, leaving 

 in the hands of the operator a bunch of 

 clean, white fiber. As soon as the strips are 

 cleaned, the fiber is hung over a bamboo 

 pole to dry. 



Practically all of the fiber produced in the 

 Philippine Islands is extracted with this 

 simple apparatus. The strength and color 



of the fiber two most important qualities 

 are determined largely by the manner in which 

 it is cleaned. Three factors in the process 

 affect the quality of the product the con- 

 dition of the knife blade, the degree of pres- 

 sure with which the knife is held upon the 

 block, and the manner of drying the fiber. 

 With a serrated knife loosely fastened the 

 fibers are only partially separated and only 

 a protion of the pulp is removed, the work 

 is easy, the yield large, but the fiber is in- 

 ferior in quality. With a knife having a 

 smooth edged blade and held firmly on the 

 block, the work of extraction is somewhat 

 more difficult and the waste greater, but a 

 very superior fiber is obtained. Prompt and 

 thorough drying will give the fiber its white 

 and lustrous color. 



ABACA PLANTS ON AN UP-TO-DATE PLANTATION IN 

 DAVAO. ILLUSTRATING EXTENT OF GROWTH AS RESULT 

 OF APPLICATION OF MODERN METHODS OF CULTURE 



