6 



BULLETIN J>30, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



During the latter part of 1917 the use of salt-water retted niague}' 

 for the manufacture of binder twine was discontinued by American 

 manufacturers, and there has been but little demand for this product 

 in the American markets for the last three years. As a result, the 

 exports of maguey fiber from the Philippines during 1918 and 1919 

 Avere less than during 1916 and 1917. There has not been a corre- 

 sponding decrease, however, in the area under cultivation. In a few 

 isolated cases maguey plants have been destroyed and the fields 

 planted to other crops, but this limited decrease in area has been 

 more than offset by new plantings. 



Table II shows the production of maguey and sisal fibers in the 

 Philippine Islands for the last eight years, as reported by the divi- 

 sion of farm statistics of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture. 



Table II. — Total and average production of maguey and sisal fibers in the 

 Philippine Islands for the 8-year period from 1912 to 1919, inclusive. 



Year. 



Production 

 of fiber. 



Average 

 production 

 per hectare. 



Year. 



Production 

 of fiber. 



Average 

 production 

 per hectare. 



1912.. 

 1913.. 

 1914.. 

 1915.. 



Metric tons. 

 4,628 

 3,619 

 7,583 

 6,315 



Piculs. 1 



8.51 



6.17 



11. 65 



8.05 



1916. . . . 

 1917.... 

 1918.... 

 1919.... 



Metric tons. 

 13, 389 

 17,190 

 16.664 

 12,318 



Piculs. 1 

 8.98 

 12.31 

 11.99 

 10.83 



1 A picul is equivalent to 137.5 pounds. 



When the use of Philippine salt-water retted fiber for the manu- 

 facture of binder twine was discontinued in 1917 it was, for the time 

 being, a severe blow to the maguey industry. Fortunately for the 

 maguey planters, there was a strong demand for this fiber in coun- 

 tries other than the United States, which partially offset the loss of 

 the American market. As the action taken by American manufac- 

 turers in regard to salt-water retted fiber has served to stimulate the 

 interest of the planters in machine cleaning, this temporary loss of 

 the American market may serve to promote, rather than to retard, 

 the development of this industry. 



There has been an increased production of maguey fiber during 

 recent months, and the present indications are that there will be a 

 larger output of binder-twine fiber in the Philippines in 1920 than 

 during any previous year. Table III shows the relative production 

 of maguey and sisal in the Philippine Islands during the first five 

 months of 1920, as compared with the production during the same 

 periods in 1918 and 1919. 



The production of maguey in the Philippine Islands with few 

 exceptions is a small-plantation industry. Throughout the Provinces 

 where maguey is grown there are many small fields and even smaller 

 patches of maguey and sisal. The owners of these small plantings 



