FIBER PLANTS 145 



gated by suckers, but sometimes by bulbils, which are 

 branch buds formed in the axils. These may be planted 

 directly into the field, or kept for a year in seed beds. 

 In the field the bulbils are usually planted a little more 

 than one meter apart in each direction ; but it would be 

 better to double this distance in places sheltered from 

 the wind. 



When they are planted, and for the following two or 

 three months, the soil should be well cultivated and 

 moist. After this, the hard, spiny leaves make culti- 

 vation impossible, and the plants are very little injured 

 by drought. They will not grow in soil where the water 

 stands near the surface. Dry air slightly retards the 

 growth, but it slightly increases the fiber. A great deal 

 of sunshine is especially beneficial. 



Yield. In the Philippines a maguey plant yields 

 hardly twenty leaves a year, each weighing 400 grams, 

 of which 3 per cent to 4 per cent is fiber. The Yucatan 

 sisal yields more leaves, each weighing one kilogram, 

 and richer in fiber. 



The fiber is extracted by stripping or by retting. Un- 

 less machines are used, the former is hard work. Excel- 

 lent machines for cleaning sisal fiber have long been in 

 use in Yucatan. Retting consists in soaking the leaves 

 until the softer parts can easily be removed. If soaked 

 too long, the fiber is valueless. Drying must be as quick 

 as possible. 



Describe the maguey plant fully and carefully. How old is maguey 

 when it blossoms ? How often does a plant blossom ? How old is 



