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should be, because what we want are large crops of jute, 
and cheap jute, to satisfy the demands of the world, and to 
continue and to extend the use of the manufactured goods. 
I am sure you will join with me in thanking Mr. Finlow for 
the very interesting paper which he has read to us this 
afternoon. 
THE PRESENT POSITION OF FIBRE CULTIVATION IN THE 
GERMAN COLONIES. 
By Professor Dr. W. F. Bruck, 
Professor of Tropical Agriculturc, University of Giessen, 
Germany. 
| ABSTRACT. | 
The most important Colony from the point of view of fibre 
cultivation is German East Africa, where cotton and sisal 
hemp are grown and where formerly Sansevieria and Mauritius 
hemps were produced. The last-mentioned fibres, however, 
have practically ceased to be exported. In Togo cotton is of 
some importance; in addition, sisal has of late years been 
cultivated there, the amount produced being only 20 tons. 
Sisal is also grown in New Guinea. 
Isolated experiments with fibre plants have been begun in 
other Colonies, but they do not require mention in connection 
with the world’s commerce. Mr. Schanz having undertaken 
to read the paper on cotton growing in the German Colonies 
before this Congress, I may limit my remarks to coarse fibre 
cultivation. Extensive experience has hitherto only been 
gaimed'in German East Africa, where this cultivation has been 
carried on for about 25 years. The cultivation has proved 
most successful where worked on a large scale. Therefore 
it can only be carried out in a profitable manner by sufficiently 
well-founded companies. In point of fact, the bulk of this 
material exported from our Colony is produced by a limited 
number of plantations only. The total amount exported last 
year was 20,834 tons. 
Formerly the hemp was decorticated by so-called ‘‘ ras- 
padores,’’ i.e., simple apparatus worked by hand. Now all 
large undertakings have given them up in favour of larger 
machines worked by power. The machine which is most 
commonly used in East Africa, Krupp’s ‘‘ Corona’’ machine, 
decorticates 100,000 to 120,000 leaves daily. The labour ques- 
tion alone absolutely demands the use of such large machines. 
Since a single sisal plant produces about 250 leaves during the 
