FIBER PLANTS 



143 



of the plant's food will be returned to the soil, and so 

 the latter will be kept richer, if the abaca is stripped and 

 the waste scattered in the field. 



/ ' 



v 'l 



*w ~ - .> 





FIG. 102. Drying abacd fiber at San Ramon, Mindanao 



New shoots of abaca are constantly becoming mature 

 in a field. It is usually found convenient to cut each 

 part of a field about four times a year. 



MAGUEY 



Crops for Arid Lands. Almost all tropical plants re- 

 quire rich, moist land, and thrive only with fairly clamp 

 air. For this reason dry ground is regarded as poor, 

 and a dry climate as unfitted to agriculture. Since dry 

 land is poor and consequently cheap, it is especially im- 

 portant to know how it can be used. There are two 

 Philippine crops which endure dry soil and air; these 



