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FIBRES 



There are about 300 varieties, and three of these 

 supply the bulk of the fibre known to the world as sisal, 



viz. : 



Agave rigida elongata, Baker, known in Mexico as 

 henequen, which produces about three-quarters of the 

 world's supply of sisal. 



Agave sisalana, Perrine. This is the variety introduced 

 into East Africa, and it was decided at the Surabaya 

 Conference of 1912, and has been urged by Mr. M. M. 

 Saleeby, that the name sisal should be confined to the 

 product of this plant. 



Agave Cantala, Roxb. Cultivated in Java, producing 

 a finer fibre than either of the two other plants. This it 

 was proposed to name in commerce Cantala fibre. 



Sansevieria has been a stepping-stone to sisal in East 

 Africa. Sisal is superior to it in every respect. It is a 

 hard, strong, whitish fibre extracted from the leaf of an 

 agave. This plant was first discovered by Cortez in 

 Mexico. He found the Aztecs and the Maya employing 

 the agave for many purposes. They used the succulent 



