10 



HISTORY. 



The first authentic account of the use of either abaca or banana fiber 

 in the Philippines is that given by an Englishman, Dampier, who lived 

 in Mindanao in 1686. This writer describes the "banana textoria," both 

 as an edible and as a fiber-producing plant. One of the companions of 

 Magallanes, Antonio Pigafetta, prepared a description of the plants of 

 the Philippines, but in this paper no mention is made of abaca. The 

 fiber was first exported from the Islands about the beginning of the last 

 century, but the exports did not become important until about 1850. 

 In 1820 a sample of abaca was brought to Salem, Massachusetts, by John 

 White, a lieutenant in the United States Navy. From 1824 to 1827 the 

 fiber began to be used quite extensively in Salem and Boston. The 

 gradual increase in production is shown by the following table : 



Exports of abacd from the Philippine Islands. 



Tons. 



1818 41 



1825 276 



1840 8,502 



1850 8,561 



1860 ♦ 30,388 



1870 31,426 



1880 50,482 



1890 67,864 



1900 _ 89,438 



1906 112,165 



July 1, 1908, to June 30, 1909 149,992 



The numerous attempts which have been made to introduce abaca 

 into other countries have never met with any considerable degree of 

 success. In 1822 experimental plantings were made in Calcutta and 

 in 1877 in Madras. The plants grew fairly well in both instances, but 

 the fiber produced was of an inferior quality. The experiments with 

 abaca in the Andaman Islands, Borneo, Florida, and the West Indies have 

 not resulted in any general introduction of the plant into these countries. 



BOTANY. 



The common banana, Musa sapientum; the plantain, Mttsa paradi- 

 siaca; and abaca, Musa textilis, are closely related species of the same 

 genus. The plants of these three species resemble each other both in 

 appearance and in habits of growth. The banana plant produces a fiber 

 similar in appearance to abaca, but lacking strength. The fruit of the 

 abaca somewhat resembles that of the banana, but is smaller, filled with 

 black seeds, and of no economic value. 



The abaca plant is a large tree-like herb 5 to 10 meters high. The 

 stalk rises from a perennial rootstock. A single rootstock usually bears 

 a cluster of from 12 to 30 stalks or shoots. The stalk is cylindrical, 2.5 

 to 6 meters long, ranging in color from dark purple to green, and is 



