BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 



In order that the farmers of the United States may have reason- 

 able assurance of being able to obtain at all times and under all con- 

 ditions an adequate supply of binder twine at reasonable prices, it 

 is necessary that an increased supply of binder-twine fiber be pro- 

 duced in United States territory or in countries over which the 

 United States exercises political control. In view of this situation, 

 investigations have been made by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture for the purpose of determining in what places the nat- 

 ural conditions are, most favorable for the production of sisal and 

 henequen. As a result of these investigations, cooperative work has 



Fig. 1. — Well-developed 9-year-old plants of henequen in Yucatan from which the sixth 

 semiannual crop is being harvested. 



been carried on during the last three years with the Philippine Bu- 

 reau of Agriculture to encourage the increased production of binder- 

 twine fiber in the Philippine Islands. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS A SOURCE OF BINDER-TWINE 



FIBER. 



With climatic and soil conditions favorable for the production of 

 sisal, with large areas of unoccupied Government land, with a fairly 

 abundant supply of relatively cheap labor, with, good roads and 

 cheap interisland water transportation, and with sisal plants already 

 widely distributed in a number of different Provinces, the Philip- 

 pine Islands possess the requirements essential for the development 

 of a flourishing sisal industry. 



