THE PRESENT POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF FIBRE 

 CULTIVATION IN THE GERMAN COLONIES. 



By DR. W. F. BRUCK. 



Professor of Tropical Agriculture, University of Giessen, 



Germany. 



THE most important German Colony from the point 

 of view of fibre cultivation is German East Africa, where 

 cotton and sisal hemp are grown, and where formerly 

 sansevieria fibre and Mauritius hemp were produced. 

 The last-mentioned fibres, however, have practically 

 ceased to be exported. In Togo cotton is of some 

 importance; in addition, sisal has of late years been 

 cultivated there, the amount produced being, however, 

 only twenty tons. 



Sisal is also grown in New Guinea. Isolated experi- 

 ments with fibre plants have been begun in other 

 Colonies, but they do not require mention in connection 

 with the world's commerce. Mr. Schanz having under- 

 taken to read the paper on cotton growing before this. 

 Congress, I may limit my remarks to fibre cultivation. 



Germany is greatly interested in the cultivation of 

 hemp-producing plants in her own Colonies. According 

 to the official statistics for 1913, the German Empire 

 imported from foreign countries fibre materials as. 

 follows : 



Quantity. Value. 



Tons Million marks 



Flax, raw and cleaned ... 71,204*3 .. 60 '9 



Flax tow ... ... 22,388-5 



Hemp ... ... ... 45,698-1 



Hemp tow... ... ... I5998'5 



Ramie and ramie waste ... 2,396-4 



Jute and jute tow ... ... 162,077-6 



Manila hemp tow ... ... 3.993'i 



Sisal hemp ... ... 3,609-3 



Kapok ... ... ... 3.334:2 



Other fibres and waste ... 22,448-9 



15-0 



76-2 



4-8 

 9-8 



Totals ... 353,148-9 218 -o 



