Popular Science Monthly 



63 



Americans quickly noted that 

 while all the raw material for 

 rope, the world over, came 

 from Manila, little factor>'- 

 finished rope was going abroad. 

 As a result an American com- 

 pany was formed and a modern 

 plant for rope-making was 

 built in Manila. 



A good hemp rope is hard, 

 but pliant, yellowish or green- 

 ish gray in color, with a certain 

 silvery or pearly luster. A 

 dark or blackish color indicates 

 that the hemp has suffered 

 from fermentation in the pro- 

 cess of curing, and brown spots 

 show that the rope was spun 

 while the fibers were damp, 

 and is consequently weak and 

 soft in those places. Sometimes a rope is 

 made of inferior hemp on the outside, 

 covered with yarn of good material. This 

 may be detected by dissecting a portion 

 of the rope. Other inferior ropes are made 

 from short fibers, or with strands of unequal 

 lengths or uneven spinning, the rope in the 

 first place appearing woolly, on account of 

 the ends of the fibers projecting; in the 

 latter case the irregularity of manufacture 

 is evident on inspection. 



A test for ascertaining the purity of 

 Manila rope consists in forming balls of 

 loose fiber of the ropes to be tested 

 and burning them com- 

 pletely to ashes; pure Ma- 



The na:i-.c5 do make rope but it is too loosely woven to 

 have much commercial value. An American plant has now 

 been established in Manila and modem machinery installed 



nila burns to a dull grayish-black ash ; sisal 

 leaves a whitish-gray ash; a combination 

 of Manila and sisal yields a mixed ash. 

 Manila hemp is frequently adulterated 

 with New Zealand flax and Russian hemp, 

 both of which are much inferior in strength. 

 Rope in service deteriorates in two ways: 

 the wear on the outer surface, which can 

 be readily seen and the stretching, bend- 

 ing, crushing and breaking of the inner 

 fibers, which cannot be discovered without 

 a careful examination. It is when rope is 

 to be subjected to such severe bending 

 and rough treatment that preliminary oiling 

 of the fibers is important, if the life of the 

 rope is to be long. 



\ 



Cargoes of hemp ready for shipment to England and western ports. All the raw material 

 for rope comes from Manila, except certain inferior grades made from flax and Russian hemp 



