95 
The ribbons must be susceptible of being delivered to the degumming 
factories at a cost not exceeding Tl. to Jl. per ton, This would pay the 
‘Then the io aetna processes should turn out filasse at a total cost 
of 36/. to 407. per ton. At this price the demand would be considerable 
and a large and prosperous industry would result. To put the position 
in other words, filasse must be put upon the market at about 4d. a Ib, 
use the words of one of the speakers in the discussion at the Society of 
Arts, “unless it could be brought down to something like the price of 
“cotton or flax, it was impossible to make any profit out of it. 
XXXI.—MANILA HEMP. 
(Musa textilis, Née.) 
[K B., 1887, e pp. 1-3.] 
This is one of the most important of cordage fibres, and the whole 
supply jara from the Philippine Woar, ‘The i mports of ee i 
mp to n ; 
United States about 160,000 bales, anal to about 50,000 t tons per 
annum. The fibre is yinda by a member of the banana or plan- 
tain family known locally as Abaca (Musa textilis), the apparent: 
stem of which is made up of sheathing leaf stalks, The habit of hie 
and areca of the plant under kipeo are identical with th 
well known in the case of the common banana. The fruit of Miia 
textilis is piala and hard and asics as food. i 
From a report by Consul Honey, dated Manilla, 10th April 1879, we 
gather that hers plant thrives best in soils largely composed of decayed 
vegetable matter. Hence, freshly cleared forest land is essential. 
Hilly ae abou 200 feet to 500 feet elevation, is considered more 
aati than low-lying land, probably on account of d 
oo 
@ 
The plants suffer severely during drought. Although seed is produced 
epe are usually established by means of suckers put out when 
about 3 feet high, and about 8 to 9 feet apart. These form a root-stock, 
from which numerous stems are successively produced. The land is 
cleaned of weeds about twice à yar gine first crop is reaped at the end 
of the second year after planting ; crop is not obtained until the 
fourth year. The yield is then pond cae for 15 to 20 years, after which 
the plantation is exhausted. The stemsare fit to be treated for fibre just 
before they begin to flower. In stems that have been allowed to 
flower the fibre is said to be weaker and of less valu hey are cut 
= ag! a foot from the ground and the leaves removed. Each stem is 
then stripped or resolved into its component layers, and these are again 
divided into strips or ribbons about 3 inches wide. Usually each layer 
or leaf-sheath is divided into three strips. The outer layers contain a 
coarser and stronger fibre than the inner, while fibre from near the — 
middle is of a fine silky texture, and capa ble of being utilised for purposes 
of spinning or weaving and made into articles of dress an nd ornament. 
