156 The National Geographic Magazine 



From ;t photograph by E. H. Thompson 



Bales of Sisal Fiber Ready for Shipment 



sisal, that have sprouted under the 

 shelter of the parent plant, are rooted out 

 of the ground when they get to be 18 

 •or 20 inches high, and thrown in a heap. 

 There they lie for two or three months 

 exposed to the sun and the weather. 

 Just before the rainy season, when they 

 seem to be dried up and decayed, they 

 are carried to the cleared fields and 

 planted in rows. Formerly the}' so 

 planted the young plants that they 

 were separated by spaces of barely 2 

 yards, but of late years it has been 

 found best to space them so that they 

 will be in lines, each plant separated 

 from the one preceding it by a space 

 of 1 Yz yards and the lines 4 yards apart 

 (about 1,100 plants to the acre). Thus, 

 long and wide lanes are formed between 



the rows that facilitate cutting and car- 

 riage of the leaves, and also lessen the 

 wounding of the leaves by the spines 

 and thorns of their neighbors. 



Previous to 1889 but little attempt 

 was made to grade the hemp. Yaxci, 

 sacci, short staple, long staple — all went 

 as "sisal." Now, a fine, white fiber, 

 well cleaned and baled, can command a 

 notably better price than mixed fiber, 

 ill-cleaned and badly baled. 



The hope of the future is in the care- 

 ful selection of hemp plants. Many 

 plantations, more by good fortune than 

 otherwise, are stocked with fiber-pro- 

 ducing plants of a high order ; others 

 are handicapped by plants producing 

 a meager fiber. The quality of the soil 

 in both cases seems to be the same ; the 



