544 FIBRES 



twenty years. To obtain the fibre, the soft watery stems (formed 

 by the leaf bases) are cut down just before they begin to flower 

 (i.e., when they are best for fibre), about a foot from the ground 

 being then stripped into ribbons; the latter are drawn repeatedly 

 by hand between a blunt knife 1 and a hard smooth board, the 

 fibre being then dried in the~sun. The inner portion of the stem 

 yields the finest quality of fibre. The > usual return is said to be 



NEW ZEALAND HEMP. PlwrUlilllll teililX. 



from 600 to 850 Ib. of dry fibre per acre from the fourth year, 

 or roughly 1 Ib. per tree. With good cultivation the yield could, 

 however, be increased to about 1,700 Ib. per acre. The price of 

 the fibre fluctuates somewhat from 25 to 35 per ton in London. 



Mauritius Hemp; Green Aloe. (Purer aea giganten. Ama- 

 ryllideae). A large succulent stemless perennial, indigenous to 

 Tropical America, bearing immense succulent leaves, 5 to 8 feet 



