OTHER FARM CROPS 585 



probably from its resemblance to the maguey of Mexico, and in Ha- 

 waii it is called malino, a corruption of manila. 



The fiber is produced commercially only on the island of Mau- 

 ritius, though there seems to be no good reason why the industry 

 should not succeed elsewhere. The plant is more hardy and thrives 

 under a greater diversity of soil and climatic conditions than any 

 other important fiber plant of this class. It is propagated by suckers 

 or by bulbils in the same manner as sisal, and the fiber is cleaned 

 partly by machinery. The preparation of the fiber involves the 

 same processes, scraping, washing, and drying, as in the case of 

 sisal. Under favorable conditions the yield ranges from 1,000 to 

 1,500 pounds per acre. The fiber is whiter and softer than other 

 hard fibers, but it is weaker than sisal. It is used in the manufac- 

 ture of gunny bags, halters, and hammocks, but more largely for 

 mixing with manila and sisal in making medium grades of cordage. 

 When the better grades of cordage fiber (manila and sisal) are 

 abundant and quoted low in the market, mauritius is likely to fall 

 below the cost of production. 



ISTLE. 



The increasing demand for cordage and twines of all kinds dur- 

 ing the past few years has led to the substitution of istle fiber for the 

 cheaper grades, whereas this fiber had been regarded heretofore as 

 suitable only for use in the manufacture of brushes. Istle or Tam- 

 pico fiber is produced by four or five different species of plants which 

 grow on the high arid table-lands of northern Mexico. The most 

 important of these are the Jaumaye lechuguilla (pronounced How- 

 mah'-ve lech-u-guee'1-ya), producing the best grade, Jaumave istle, 

 lechuguilla, producing a medium grade, Tula istle; and palma sa- 

 mandoca and palma pita, producing palma istle, about equal in 

 value to Tula istle. The production of Jaumave istle is confined 

 chiefly to the fertile Jaumave Valley, about 70 miles by road over 

 the mountains south of Victoria, in the State of Tamaulipas. The 

 fiber is obtained from the leaves of an agave plant, known technically 

 as Agave lophantha. The plant is not cultivated, but it grows abun- 

 dantly on the mountain sides and out on the gravelly plain at the 

 base of the mountains. Only the young inner leaves, forming the 

 central spindle-like bud, are used. These are collected and the leaves 

 taken up one by one and cleaned by drawing them, first one end 

 then the other, under a blunt knife pressed against a block of wood. 

 More than 30 tons of this fiber are produced in the vicinity of Jau- 

 mave every week, and all of it is shipped on the backs of burros over 

 the mountains, a long two days' journey, to the railway at Victoria. 



Tula istle is obtained from the lechuguilla plant (Agave lechw- 

 guilla'), which is widely distributed on the high lands of Mexico 

 and extends into western Texas and New Mexico. The fiber is pro- 

 duced most abundantly in the vicinity of Tula, about 60 miles south 

 of Jaumave, in the State of Tamaulipas. It is obtained from the in- 

 ner leaves of the plant, and is cleaned in exactly the same manner 

 as Jaumave istle. 



