16 FARMERS' BULLETIN. 



it is extensively used for saddle cloths. The cloths are not woven, but 

 matted and stitched. It is used also in upholstery. 



A number of machines have for several years been used extensively in 

 Mexico and Central America and the West Indies for extracting sisal 

 fiber from Agave sisalana. This plant, though producing a coarser 

 fiber than the maguey, is so nearly like it in the size and texture of its 

 leaves that no doubt some of these machines could be adapted to extract 

 the maguey fiber. These machines vary much in capacity, cleaning from 

 75,000 to 120,000 leaves per day. The essential principle of these ma-j 

 chines is that the pulpy material is scraped from the fiber without being' 

 fermented or macerated, thus saving considerable time and labor. 



PINEAPPLE FIBER. 



(Ananas sativus. ) 



Few of our economic plants have become more widely disseminated 

 since their discovery than the pineapple. It is, to the best of our knowl- 

 edge, a native of Brazil, and was first introduced into Europe in 1513. 

 Now it is grown in nearly all tropical and subtropical countries. In 

 nearly all countries where the plant is of economic importance it is culti- 

 vated for its delicious fruit, but at the same time the leaves produce a 

 fiber which for fineness and comparative strength is not equaled by any; 

 other vegetable fiber. The value of this fiber has long been known toj 

 natives of countries where the plant flourishes for its strength, fineness, 

 and durability in water. It has long been used in India and China for- 

 lines and thread and as an adulterant in silk and woolen fabrics. Pine-* 

 apples are grown quite extensively in Singapore, mainly for their fruit, 

 but some fiber is produced for export to China, where it is used folj 

 thread and woven into cloth. * j 



The pineapple is quite extensively distributed throughout the Philip- 

 pines. In some places it grows wild ; in others it is cultivated, or rather 

 husbanded, for its fruits. In the Luzon Provinces of Laguna, Tayabas, 

 Ambos Camarines, and Albay, throughout the Island of Panay, and to 

 some extent in Cebu, it is grown for the production of fiber. It is 

 claimed by Mr. Perouttel that the pineapple grown in the Philippines is 

 a distinct species which he calls Bromelia pigna, but sufficient material 

 has not been collected by us to verify this. However, in many parts, either 

 because it is a different species, or because of climatic conditions, the 

 plant can hardly be praised for its fruit-bearing qualities. The fruits of 

 these are small, fibrous, and not easily digestible. There are localities, 

 however, where fruits of superior quality are produced. 



Ananas sativus will flourish on soils varying greatly in texture and 

 fertility. It is particular, however, that the soil in which it grows be 

 well drained and porous. In the Florida Keys it produces profitable crops 

 upon soils not more than an inch thick covering the coral rock, and 

 analyses of good pineapple soils show very small percentages of the food 



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