FIBER PLANTS 137 



fore, if the soil, or even the air, is dry, and the plant is ex- 

 posed to strong light or wind, it transpires too rapidly, 

 and wilts. Constant moisture of both soil and air is ab- 

 solutely necessary to its successful production. Take the 

 maps which show the rainfall in the Philippines, and you 

 will see that the great abaca provinces have a rather 

 heavy rainfall, and no dry season. 



Shade. Where there is a moderately dry season, abaca 

 can be protected against it by planting it in sheltered 

 places, as in valleys and ravines, and by the use of shade 

 trees. These make cultivation difficult, and deprive the 

 plant of light. Where there is moisture enough at all 

 times, abaca can be grown on plains without shade ; and 

 then it will naturally grow more rapidly and produce more 

 fiber than shaded plants can ever do. In Albay, 12 

 piculs of fiber is regarded as the greatest production of 

 a thousand shaded plants in a year; but in Davao, a 

 crop of 1 6 and even 18 piculs is produced as the average 

 from each thousand plants on whole plantations of trees 

 grown without shade. 



Temperature. In the abaca provinces the temperature 

 is rather high and very uniform. An average tempera- 

 ture below 22 would probably not permit its thrifty 

 growth. It is cultivated at altitudes as great as 1000 

 meters; but it is much more productive near sea level, 

 unless the climate is too dry there. 



Soil. Like other crops, abaca pays for rich soil by 

 large crops. The soil must be moist. Hut it must also 

 be well drained, for abaca roots die quickly if the soil 



