FIBER PLANTS 



135 



and heavy cloth is made of abaca in some places. Abaca" 

 is also used to make paper. Some of this is coarse, and 

 some is so fine that it is the only paper which can be 



Fl(5. 95. Taking abaci fiber to market 



used like silk, to wind the wires of induction coils. All 

 paper made from abaca is very strong. In America and 

 Europe, old, worn-out ropes made of abaca fiber are 

 bought and used to make paper. 



Production and Export. Abaca is a monopoly of the 

 Philippine Islands. It is native here, and all of it has 

 always been grown here. Attempts have been made to 

 introduce it into Borneo, India, and elsewhere, but in 

 these places it has been found too expensive to cultivate, 



