BANANA AND PLANTAIN FIBRES 165 



Samples of this fibre have been examined at the 

 Imperial -Institute, and are described in Selected 

 Reports from the Scientific and Technical Department, 

 I. Fibres (Cd. 4,588). They were regarded by 

 commercial experts as comparable with the best 

 fibres used for rope-making and similar to the 

 superior grades of Manila hemp, and it was stated 

 that such fibre would be readily saleable in the London 

 market. 



The fibres of two other species growing in East 

 Africa, viz. M. Ensete and M. ulugurensis, have also 

 been examined at the Imperial Institute. These 

 fibres are prepared by the natives in a very primitive 

 manner, but samples from each species which were 

 forwarded to Germany in 1903 were reported by 

 experts to be of very good quality, though inferior 

 to true Manila hemp. The plants do not produce 

 suckers, and therefore can only be propagated from 

 the seeds, which in both cases germinate fairly easily. 

 The yield of fibre from Musa ulugurensis is small in 

 comparison with that from Musa textilis, the Manila 

 hemp plant, but it is possible that this disadvantage 

 may be compensated by the more rapid growth of the 

 former plant and by cheaper labour and improved 

 methods of fibre extraction. 



The examination of these fibres at the Imperial 

 Institute showed that both are of a useful character, 

 that of M. Ensete being decidedly superior to that of 

 M. ulugurensis. Both products were regarded by 

 commercial experts as of very promising quality and 

 equal in value to high-grade Manila hemp. 



Banana Fibre in West Africa. Bananas and plan- 

 tains are cultivated in all parts of West Africa. 

 Specimens of fibre prepared from these plants in 

 Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, and Southern Nigeria 

 have been investigated at the Imperial Institute. 



Three samples forwarded from Sierra Leone in 

 1902 were of inferior quality, and although this was 

 largely due to defective preparation, it was still 

 considered unlikely that these fibres would be of value 

 for any but local uses. 



A specimen received from Southern Nigeria in 1906 



