THE FIBRE INDUSTRY IN MAURITIUS. 



By F. A. STOCKDALE, M.A., F.L.S. 

 Director of Agriculture, Mauritius, 



THE fibre industry is, after sugar, the most important 

 agricultural industry of the Colony of Mauritius. The 

 fibre is obtained almost entirely from forms of Furcrxa 

 gigantea, which are now to be found growing in prac- 

 tically all districts of the island. These plants were 

 doubtless introduced into the island from the New World 

 as ornamental plants, but the date of introduction is 

 uncertain. They thrive exceptionally well, and spread 

 rapidly by means of the numerous bulbils that are 

 produced on the flower stems after flowering. Some 

 exceptionally fine specimens of Furcraea plants are to be 

 met with on the island. These are usually to be found 

 on fertile lands at altitudes varying from 300 to 1,000 ft. 

 On the upper, wetter, but cooler plateaux the plants do 

 not generally attain such a fine development as at the 

 lower altitudes, where the temperature is warmer. On 

 the coastal regions, where rainfall is scanty, growth is 

 often slow. 



Fibre plants in Mauritius are locally called " aloes," 

 and two varieties occur, viz., the " Creole Aloe " (Purer sea 

 gigantea var. Will erne tiana), and the " Aloe Malgache '* 

 (Purer sea gigantea}. 



The Creole aloes contain a larger percentage of fibre, 

 and grow more rapidly than the aloes Malgache. In 

 the higher altitudes the plants grow more slowly than 

 in the warmer districts around the coast, and it is mainly 

 in the coastal districts that exploitation of fibre takes 

 place. The aloe Malgache grows much better than the 

 Creole aloe at the higher altitudes, and those factories 



