398 



THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



tivation, since the rapid growth soon shades the ground. Small 

 shrubs which sometimes occur are cut out with bolos. Planta- 

 tions thus started may last for generations. The plant is har- 

 vested as soon as the flower bud appears, about three years 

 from planting when propagated by cuttings, and about five 

 years when seeds are sown. The plant attains a height of 8 to 

 20 feet, and the leaf sheaves of which the stems are chiefly com- 

 posed are 5 to 12 feet in 

 length. As soon as cut, the 

 leaves are divided into thin 

 strips and drawn by hand 

 under a knife held by a 

 spring against a piece of 

 wood, which scrapes away 

 the pulp. One laborer may 

 harvest about 25 pounds of 

 fiber a day. A fair yield 

 of fiber is estimated at from 

 350 to 500 pounds per acre 

 annually. The average 

 yield of the cultivated area 

 in the Philippines, in 1902, 

 was approximately 275 

 pounds per acre. The pro- 

 duction of manila fiber is 

 the most important industry 

 of the Philippines, and constitutes more than half the value of 

 the exports. 



"The best grade of manila fiber is of a light buff color, lustrous and very 

 s.rong, in fine, even strands 6 to 12 feet in length. Poorer grades are coarser 

 and duller in color, some of them yellow or even dark brown, and lacking in 

 strength. The better grades are regarded as the only satisfactory material 

 known in commerce for making hawsers, ships' cables, and other marine 

 cordage which may be exposed to salt water, or for well-drilling cables, hoisting 

 ropes, and transmission ropes to be used where great strength and flexibility 

 are required. The best grade of binder twine is made from manila fiber, 



Manila fiber. Native Tagalog woman, about 



five feet tall 

 (From photo by Gilmore) 



