106 
XXXV.—MANILA HEMP PLANTS. 
(Musa textilis, Née.) 
[K. B., 1895, p. 208.] 
There are numerous treba of Musa textilis yielding the Manila 
hemp of commerce. wo better kinds are known in the Philippines 
as capt Tm and bi uroni The stems of the latter are said to 
eld as much as one catty (about 1} lbs.) per stem. Great stress is 
laid on ee fact that Manila plants can only be successfully grown in 
virgin soil, in partial shade, and with a regular rainfall. A writer in 
the British North Borneo Hera ld, 1 Josie pei states that 
“ Anything less than a well distributed rain-fall of f or five inches 
per month will “hl their growth . . even in hs Philippines 
there are districts too dry for them.” If placed under omar: 
r 
all. The abies and preparation of l pe have been fully 
fibre ort at present is prepared by hand. Machines have often 
been tried, but owing to the abundant and cheap labour supplied by the 
natives it thas iras found more advantageous to continue the hand- 
cleani 
emp, Phormium and Sansevieria. Manila-hemp, in es governs the 
market in these commodities. Hitherto Manila-hemp plants have not 
thriven on a large scale outside the Philippine Islands, The character 
of the Manila-hemp plants grown at Kew and distributed to the West 
Indies and tropical Africa gave hopes that it might be possible to obtain 
plants with a Ao robust habit and capable of yielding a larger quantity 
of fibre. An application was made with this view to Mr. William 
Stigand, Her Majesty’s Consul at Manila, who kere e od enough to 
obtain and forward to Kew a case containing 47 s “ from a well- 
known grower.” These arrived in November e “PhiGy yielded a 
number of strong healthy plants which so far promise to e much better 
under cultivation than the previous plants. Of the new sort it is 
intended to distribute a few to all the botanical ikani in the 
est Indies and West Africa, where they will receive special attention. 
XXXVI.—MANILA HEMP IN BRITISH NORTH 
BORNEO 
(Musa textilis, Née.) 
[K. B., 1898, pp. 15-18.] 
nformation respecting the important cordage fibre obtained from 
Wise textilis, the whois supply of which comes from the Philippine 
