PREPARATION OF THE FIBRE IN WEST INDIES. 81 
best kind of fibre is produced, and what would be the loss of 
profit, supposing that the fruit is sacrificed for the sake of the 
fibre. , 
The stem is described as being cut off about six inches above 
the ground, and being tender, it may, on being bent down, be 
cut asunder with a single stroke of a hatchet or cutlass. It 
is then divided, longitudinally, into four parts, the centre 
taken out and left to serve as manure, and the pieces conveyed at 
once to the mill to be crushed. It is said that “one man 
can cut down 800 trees, and split them in a day.” A very 
convenient size for the rollers of the mill, will be found to be 
about three feet in length and one foot in diameter. In the 
process of crushing, care should be taken to separate the 
tender from the harder layers of fibre. This may be attained 
by having the rollers of the mill placed horizontally ; and if 
the pieces of Plantain are passed lengthways through the mill 
the pressure will be uniform, and the fibre uninjured. “In 
this manner, pass the different sorts of layers separately, and 
the produce will be about four pounds of fibre from each tree, 
The stalks of the branches of the Plantain (no doubt the mid- 
rib of the leaf is meant) give the best fibre, and a large quan- 
tity as compared with the body of the tree; 100]b. of the 
stalk will give 15 lb. nett of fibre. In general, if a tree will 
give 4b. nett of fibre, the stalks will give 1 lb. out of the 4 lb. 
The stalks ought also to be crushed separately, because they 
are harder than the exterior layers of the tree. About 3000 
trees may be passed through the mill in a day. Whilst the 
experiments were in progress, it was ascertained that, with 
a single horse, 100 Plantain trees, on an average, were 
crushed in twenty minutes—giving five minutes’ rest for the 
horse.” 
The quantity of produce from each plant, is the point of 
greatest discrepancy between the West Indian practice and Dr. 
Hunter’s experiments, as he mentions only a few ounces of 
fibre as procurable from each plant. But as he rejected the 
outer parts, and did not include the midrib of the leaves, the 
discrepancy may be partly accounted for. The combings or 
tow, separated from the fibres during their preparation, are 
also of value as a substitute for horse-hair, for stuffing mat- 
tresses, &c.; and also the peduncle or core, if pounded into 
6 
