MANILA HEMP AND OTHER FIBRES 151 



usually the case with banana fibre, and worth 25 to 26 

 per ton. 



Plantain and banana fibres from the Gold Coast have 

 been reported on at the Imperial Institute.* The plantain 

 fibre was regarded by commercial experts as worth 40 

 per ton (with good Manila hemp at 38 to 42 per ton) ; 

 and the banana fibre 36 per ton (with fair Manila hemp 

 at 35 to 36 per ton). 



The following is the report of a Committee appointed 

 to consider the extension of the cultivation of fibre plants 

 in India, j" so far as it refers to plantain fibre : 



" There are possibilities in India of a useful industry in 

 plantain fibre. In many parts the plantain is common in 

 every garden ; and in Bengal, Assam, the Bombay and 

 Malabar coasts, the Delta tracts of Madras, and in parts 

 of Burma, wholes groves of plantains are quite common. 

 The fibre of the plant which produces good fruit is usually, 

 however, far inferior to that of Musa textilis, the source 

 of Manila hemp. Moreover, the amount of fibre obtainable 

 from a plantain in India is small. Experiments have 

 shown that the fibre can be extracted by a simple hand- 

 machine ; but, in view of the low market price obtainable 

 as a rule, not much more than half that of Manila hemp 

 it remains to be proved that a plantain fibre industry in 

 India is a commercial possibility. The fibre is of little 

 use for the manufacture of cordage as its strength is below 

 the standard usually demanded for ropemaking. There 

 are about 124,000 acres under plantains in Burma, but 

 nothing is done with the fibre. The crop might give paying 

 results for fibre after producing fruit." 



The question of the value of fibre from the stem of the 

 banana comes up again and again for discussion in the 

 West Indies, although it was practically settled many 

 years ago when Sir D. Morris was Director of Public 

 Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica. The stem yields less 

 than 1J per cent, of its weight that is, about l|lbs. per 



* Bull Imp. Inst., vi. 240 (1908). 



f Agricultural Research Inst., Pusa, Bulletin No. 15, July 1909. 



