189 
your Lordship that I am at length in a position to speak definitely ofa 
mac chine that is now in successful operation in this Colon 
he machine in vege : one manufactured by a Mr. Todd, of 
aie and have no doubt it will be universally adopted here. 
It dresses the fibre perfectly and ey a minimum amount of waste, rg 
though half a ton is all that a single machine will yield i ina day’ S wo 
the principle i is so sound that all that is necessary is to increase the 
number to meet "a required n 
I may observe, however, it ‘ded not necessarily follow that the 
` Todd ” machine will be ien where the conditions of the plant are 
not similar to ours. I am not informed of the nature of the plant at 
Fiji, but it may be instructive to know that the leaves of the Bahama 
plant which hold the fibre are from four to six feet long, that they are 
free from gum, and the threads separate without combing. Little 
washing is needed, and the whole process of extracting, washing, and 
drying is the work of one day. 
I have, &e. 
The Most Honourable (Signed) A. SHEA, 
The Mar — of er EG: Governor, 
&e. &e. 
An account, ‘with an een of the “Todd” fibre ee tae 
machine, is given by Mr. Charles Richards Doc a: in Report 
“On the Leaf Fibres of the United Dele gprs y the Dorri 
of Agriculture in 1893, pp. 25-26. Mr. 
“The only new machine for cleaning Sisal ne per that has been 
brought to my attention, since the publication of my previous report, is 
the device patented in 1892 by J. L. Acosta, and manufactured by 
Joseph C. Todd, Paticiiii, N.J. 
a nio a of the obec 2 are set forth as follows :— 
wash the fibres Otherwise the fibres iae ep cleaned an a syashed a 
eing scraped, if it is desirable to avoi expense of the p 
tanks. With a single man to put the leaves on the feeding chain, and a 
