184 CORDAGE FIBRES 



About thirty years ago, Purer ceo, gigantea was 

 introduced into Natal and has since spread along the 

 coast lands, ^b; serious attempt was made about 

 twelve years ago to cultivate the plant in the vicinity 

 of Port Shepstone. Plantations were established, 

 encouragement was given to the settlers to plant 

 small areas with this crop, and a mill was erected and 

 equipped with the needful machinery. The planta- 

 tions were afterwards neglected, but were reclaimed 

 in 1906, and modern machinery was installed. The 

 transport of the leaves to the factory was found to be 

 a heavy expense, but this could have been consider- 

 ably reduced, either by laying down tram-lines or 

 erecting machinery in the plantations. With regard 

 to the collection of the leaves, it was found that the 

 best results were secured by cutting from seven to 

 nine leaves each month. About 1,000 acres are now 

 devoted to the crop, and the average yield is about 

 one ton of dry fibre per acre. A small export trade 

 has been established, and the product has realised 

 good prices in the London market. 



Furcrcea gigantea also grows well in Nyasaland, and 

 produces fibre of excellent quality throughout the 

 Protectorate up to elevations of 2,900 feet. During 

 the last few years, plantations have been established, 

 especially in the Blantyre district, and small quanti- 

 ties of the fibre are now being produced for export. 



Another species, F. cubensis, grows readily in 

 Tobago and Trinidad and in many other tropical 

 countries, and is said to yield a strong, lustrous fibre. 

 The yield of dry fibre varies from 2 to 3 per cent, 

 of the weight of the fresh leaves. 



The cultivation of Mauritius hemp does not appear 

 to have been attempted in British West Africa, except 

 on a small experimental scale in parts of Nigeria and 

 in the Northern Territories, Gold Coast. Experi- 

 ments have been carried out in Senegal, however, 

 and have given very satisfactory results. 



Samples of the fibre of Furcrcea cubensis were for- 

 warded to the Imperial Institute from Sierra Leone 

 in 1902 and 1905. It is stated that the plant from 

 which this fibre was derived is not indigenous to the 



