FIBRES 563 



i metre. The daughter plant rarely develops a separate 

 stem. The leaves are dark green or bluish-green, their 

 length is about 1*75 m., their width near the central part 

 8 to 14 cm., and their thickness in the narrowest portion 

 near the base of the leaf 2 to 4 cm. Marginal spikes are 

 only found occasionally; when present, they are slightly 

 bent and point downwards, their length being 25 to 

 28 mm. The flower-bearing stem attains a length of 

 4 to 8 m., and carries slender branches pointing up- 

 wards. The flowers are about 6 cm. long. Immediately 

 beneath them arise the bulbils which have been mentioned 

 previously. Nothing is so far known concerning the 

 development of seeds. 



Cultivation. 



If it is intended to use bulbils for cultivation these are 

 first reared in nurseries; if, on the other hand, suckers 

 are to be employed, they are usually planted out in the 

 field at once. Care should be taken to plant suckers of 

 approximately the same size. It would be a mistake, 

 e.g., to plant a sucker whose main stem is 30 cm. long 

 next to another one 50 cm. in length. Such differences 

 in size render harvesting difficult; besides, the hemp 

 obtained is irregular and the quality of the product 

 suffers. Large suckers yield mature leaves earlier, thus 

 reducing the time required for the harvest. 



Before the beginning of cultivation the area is parcelled 

 out, the shrubs are burned down, and the ground is care- 

 fully measured and marked out. The plants are then 

 planted out, no further preparation or digging of special 

 holes being required. Considerable differences may be 

 observed with regard to the planting distances employed. 

 Should inter-cultivation of other plants between the 

 agavse be intended a point which will receive further 

 consideration subsequently the distance should, of 

 course, be comparatively great, say, 2*5 by 2'5 m. Other 

 distances employed are 2'5 by 1*25, 2*25 by 1*25, or 2 by 

 2m. As the normal planting distance we may regard 

 2*5 by i '25 m. It is inadvisable to make the intervals 

 too short, e.g., 2 by i m., or less. With sucker planta- 

 tions it is usually difficult to avoid some degree of irregu- 



