FIBRES 553 



and installed in five factories. This machine consists 

 essentially of an inclined feeding table extending to the 

 mouth of the gratte. Leaves are placed on this inclined 

 table, gripped in the jaws of the feeder, and fed into the 

 gratte automatically. The green fibre is then pulled back 

 and taken out of the jaws as they open. The basal 

 portion of each leaf is left unscraped, and has to be cut 

 off and discarded. For small plants where labour is 

 difficult to obtain this machine can be advantageously 

 employed. It requires to have close supervision, or 

 otherwise cutting of fibre and loss of leaves may result. 

 The loss of the basal stumps of the leaves is also con- 

 siderable unless the feeder is satisfactorily adjusted. 

 During 1913 two of these machines worked throughout 

 the year and are reported to have given general satis- 

 faction. Three other factories which had installed them 

 did not work with them, however, as the proprietors were 

 of opinion that the loss of fibre was greater than when 

 hand power is employed, and that the dry fibre was not 

 of such a high quality. 



The Government have taken in hand the matter of 

 machinery for fibre production, and are installing in the 

 Black River district a New Corona Automatic Decorti- 

 cating Machine with a view to ascertaining whether 

 reductions in the cost of production can be effected. 



Manufacture. 



The leaves are brought to the factories by tramways 

 or by ox-carts. They are delivered to the factories in 

 packets each containing from eight to eighteen leaves. 

 These packets are then checked and placed in heaps, 

 from which they are transported as required to the 

 " gratteurs." Two gratteurs work at each gratte, and a 

 table is installed for each gratteur. The leaves are placed 

 on these tables, and are fed by the gratteurs into the 

 machines two or three at a time. One half of the leaf 

 is scraped and then withdrawn. The leaf is then turned 

 and the other half fed into the machine. The green 

 fibre, as scraped, is placed on rails which are placed 

 alongside, and from there it is taken and tied into small 



