172 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



Hawaii, and Java. The leaves of the maguey are less rigid 

 than henequen, but have lateral spines like the latter. Maguey 

 is produced chiefly in the Philippines, Java, and British India. 

 The Philippines export about 6,000 tons of maguey fiber. At- 

 tempts have sometimes been made to secure maguey and even 

 sisal fiber by retting, but the fiber is always discolored and 

 greatly injured by this process. All sisal fiber is therefore re- 

 moved by a decorticating machine. Several other species of 

 Agave are sometimes used locally for fiber, but hardly on a 

 commercial scale, for example, A. americana and A. decipiens. 

 The former produces a fiber known as pita or aloes fiber. Istle 

 or Tampico fiber is derived from A. heteracantha and A. lo- 

 phanta. These plants have thick, rigid, spiny leaves and pro- 

 duce a coarse fiber which is used for cordage and bagging. 



Among the fiber plants related to sisal it may be well to men- 

 tion cajun (Furcrcea cubensis) and Mauritius hemp (F. gigan- 

 tea). Mauritius hemp is indigenous to tropical America. The 

 leaves are 5 to 8 feet long and spiny, but not so rigid as sisal 

 leaves. The leaves contain about 2j^ per cent, of fiber, which 

 is greatly injured by retting, but is extracted without harm by 

 scotching machines. The yield of fiber is about i ton per acre. 

 Cajun, known also as silk grass, gives a fiber of superior qual- 

 ity, the leaves containing about 2 per cent, of fiber by weight. 

 The cultivation of Mauritius hemp and cajun is waning. 

 Zapupe {Agave zapupe and other species) recently came into 

 some prominence in Mexico. This plant produces leaves ready 

 for harvesting at the age of 2 years. The crop persists longer 

 than sisal, but the commercial status of the fiber is yet to be 

 determined. 



The sisal leaves contain about 3.5 per cent, of fiber by weight 

 and the commercial fiber varies in length from 3 to 5 feet. This 

 fiber is second only to Manila hemp in strength. It is used 

 chiefly for cordage. The binder twine industry requires a 

 large amount of sisal, and sisal fiber is extensively used in mak- 

 ing so-called Manila rope. In the cordage industry as in van- 



