18 FARMERS' BULLETIN. 



by the fingers or a small spatula. The scraping is then continued until 

 another layer of fiber is exposed, and this in tiirn is lifted away. The 

 process continues until all the fibers of the leaf are separated out. As 

 the fiber is separated it is washed in clear water, and laid out in the sun 

 to dry and bleach. The washing and drying may be repeated until the 

 fiber possesses the texture and whiteness desired. 



A mature plant has about 40 leaves from 1| to 3 inches broad and 

 ranging from 2 to 5 feet long. In the Provinces of Iloilo and Antique, 

 where pineapple plants are grown largely for their fiber, a ton of leaves, 

 about 22,000, produces from 50 to 65 pounds of dry fiber. This is a 

 small yield when we take into consideration the number of leaves which 

 have to be handled and the labor of extracting the fiber. Before the 

 pineapple fiber can become a very important commercial product machines 

 will have to be devised for extracting the fiber on plantations more 

 extensive than those worked at present. Two machines have been used, 

 the Van Buren and the Sanford Mallory, but they have not yet been 

 able to produce a quantity of fiber sufficient to make their use economical. 



The pineapple fiber has not yet been produced in quantities sufficient 

 to give it commercial importance. But no doubt it is destined to a more 

 extensive use than at present, as it possesses unique qualities. The 

 fabrics called "pin a" and "rengue," manufactured from it here in the 

 Philippines, are constantly beaming more popular in both Europe and 

 America, and there is a growing demand for these fabrics for embroidery. 

 The rengue and pina are now valued at from 25 to 75 cents per yard, and 

 the fiber in the London market has been adjudged worth 30 per ton. 



The fiber is also used for small cordage where great strength is required. 

 In Calcutta a rope 3J inches in circumference was tested and bore a 

 strain of 5,700 pounds. It has been suggested that the dried leaves from 

 the fruit plantations could be used for paper stock, but as yet no trials 

 along this line have 'been made. 



COTTON. 



There is hardly an intelligent person in the world who is not acquainted 

 with cotton as a fiber, and to both the student and general reader it 

 would seem only necessary to refer to the many excellent books and papers 

 which have already been written upon this subject. Among the most 

 recent books is Bulletin 33, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Office of Experiment Stations. This work discusses at length the history, 

 botany, chemistry, cultivation, and varieties of cotton. 



The influence of cotton upon the commercial and social interests of the 

 people of the world is far reaching. Cotton and its products form one of 

 the greatest items, both in tonnage and value, in the carrying trade of 

 the world. What the bamboo and cocoanut are to people of the Tropics 

 cotton is to people of the world in even a broader and a larger sense, and 

 it is almost unique in the sense that the variety of its products and their 



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