173 
annual value of more than a million and a half sterling, and if, as 
is shown by Captain Jerome Stuart, this large and valuable industry 
is capable of being continuously carried on by means of machines 
in regular use, e, there should be no difficulty in selecting one or more of 
these machines for ase elsewhere. The only advantage possessed by 
countries, 
REPORT on the FIBRE INDUSTRY of YUCATAN addressed to Sir 
AMBROSE SHEA, K.C.M.G., Governor of the Bahamas, by Captain 
E. JEROME STUART 
n accordance with instructions received from your Excellency on 
the 15th ultimo, I sailed on that date for Yucatan, for the purpose of 
comparing the soil of the Bahamas and its adaptability to the fibre 
i A f : 
Agaves planted, and their liability to disease: the character of the 
machinery used for extracting the Henequen fibre, and the cultivation 
and — management - bie crops. 
When in Yucatan I visited 28 Henequen estates, and ae careful 
inquiry r ieee the honour k submit the following report : 
THE SOIL OF YUCATAN COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE BAHAMAS. 
Sind heey in the “fibre producing district” of Yucatan is gravelly 
and st and varies in colour, being black, brown, and There 
cay ed of land in the district, similar to that on most of our islands, 
and known as “mixed land.” The soil has an average depth of 8 inches, 
and is underlaid by soft limestone rock, similar to that of our “ Pine 
Barren ” lands.” 
The largest fibre fields in the State are to be found on this shallow 
stony soil, ap hie yield of fibre is greater than on the deeper soil 30 
miles further and. 
I could not, prms looking at the fibre fields of Yucatan, doubt for a 
moment that "the fibre fields of this colony are equally good; and if the 
growth of plants is any guarantee of the virtue contained in the soil in 
which they grow, I do not hesitate in saying that the soil of the Bahamas 
is equally as good as the soil of Yucatan. 
Any one who will look over the grounds of Fort Charlotte will see 
the soil, trees, and weeds of the fibre fields of Yucatan, with this dif- 
ference, that the soil there is more stony. 
THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF AGAVES. 
There are several species of Agaves to be found in Yucatan, but as 
two only are of chief commercial ‘value, I confine my report to those two. 
The Henequen.—The kind of fibre plant growing in Yucatan, and 
known as the Sacqui or —— en, is a different and distinct Agave 
from that of the Bahama p 
The plant is hardy, and ee when cultivated, an average life of 18 
are and propagates itself by sending out “s uckers ” Bed: m its roots. 
s Henequon eo rigida, var. Aohgalid > ires eo five to 
eight years’ growth to produce a marketable ee "3 feet) of fibre, 
