39 



should be, because what we want are large crops of jute, 

 and cheap jute, to satisfy the demands of the world, and to 

 continue and to extend the use of the manufactured goods. 



I am sure you will join with me in thanking Mr. Finlow for 

 the very interesting paper which he has read to us this 

 afternoon. 



THE PRESENT POSITION OF FIBRE CULTIVATION IN THE 

 GERMAN COLONIES. 



By Professor Dr. W. F. BRUCK, 



Professor of Tropical Agriculture, University of Gievsen, 



Germany. 



[ABSTRACT.] 



The most important Colony from the point of view of fibre 

 cultivation is German East Africa, where cotton and sisal 

 hemp are grown and where formerly Sansevieria and Mauritius 

 hemps were produced. The last-mentioned fibres, however, 

 have practically ceased to be exported. In Togo cotton is of 

 some importance; in addition, sisal has of late years been 

 cultivated there, the amount produced being only 20 tons. 

 Sisal is also grown in New Guinea. 



Isolated experiments with fibre plants have been begun in 

 other Colonies, but they do not require mention in connection 

 w r ith the world's commerce. Mr. Schanz having undertaken 

 to read the paper on cotton growing in the German Colonies 

 before this Congress, I may limit my remarks to coarse fibre 

 cultivation. Extensive experience has hitherto only been 

 gamed in German East Africa, where this cultivation has been 

 carried on for about 25 years. The cultivation has proved 

 most successful where worked on a large scale. Therefore 

 it can only be carried out in a profitable manner by sufficiently 

 well-founded companies. In point of fact, the bulk of this 

 material exported from our Colony is produced by a limited 

 number of plantations only. The total amount exported last 

 year was 20,834 tons. 



Formerly the hemp was decorticated by so-called " ras- 

 padores," i.e., simple apparatus worked by hand. Now all 

 large undertakings have given them up in favour of larger 

 machines worked by power. The machine which is most 

 commonly used in East Africa, Krupp's " Corona " machine, 

 decorticates 100,000 to 120,000 leaves daily. The labour ques- 

 tion alone absolutely demands the use of such large machines. 

 Since a single sisal plant produces about 250 leaves during the 



