t 68 J 



fibre, have been cultivated by the natives of Yucat- 

 an, and are a staple product of that country to 

 this day, furnishing the well known Sisal hemp. 

 The people know them as Jenequen (Schott) or 

 Henequen (Perrine) and distinguish, as [317 (29)] 

 Dr. Schott reports, the Yaxci (Yashki) as furnish- 

 ing the best quality and the Sacci (Sacqui) with 

 the largest quantity of fibre ; Chucumci, larger 

 than the last, produces coarser fibre ; Babci has 

 fine fibre, but in smaller quantity ; Citamci, with 

 small narrow leaves and poor fibre, stands probably 

 nearest to the wild plant. Dr. Perriue mentions 

 another variety, Istle, evidently the Ixtli of 

 Karwinski, as furnishing a fine fibre called Pita. 

 These plants yield a return of leaves when four 

 or five years old, and may last 50 or 60 years 

 under proper management ; the flowering scape is 

 cut off as soon as four feet high, when, evidently, 

 axillary branches continue the growth of the 

 plant ; which is thus kept so long alive by being 

 prevented from flowering. 



"With the name of longifolia I designate the variety 

 known as Sacci and extensively cultivated in [318 

 (30)] Yucatan. It is principally distinguished by 

 its much longer spiny leaves 4 5 feet long 3i 4 

 inches wide, flowers very similar to those of the wild 

 plant, but the filaments greenish. A. fourcroides, 

 Jacobi Ag. 107, probably belongs here, and A. 

 elongata, Jacobi, 108, I would refer to this form 

 if the description did not expressly mention a 

 channelled terminal spine. 



" Agave Sisalana is the name that Dr. Perrine gave to the 

 plant known to the natives of Yucatan as Yaxci, 

 the most valuable of the fibre producing Agaves, 

 and which was introduced by him into South Flori- 

 da some thirty-five ,or forty years ago, during his 

 efforts to acclimatize commercially valuable tropical 

 plants in that almost tropical portion of our terri- 

 tory, efforts which were aided by Congress by a large 



