7 
“ Manila rate which we enclose has a value to-day (Sept. 24, 1886), of 
* 311. per 
A few ue es taken from plants grown at Kew were recently passed 
through Death’s fibre machine, but the result, owing to the smallness of 
follo» ows na“ Short and miia moderate strength. Value 23%. pe t 
“ reported on fibre from this plant from a in Septembe ber ast 
hen we valued the sample at 20/. per t The differ rence now i 
“ due solely to the advance in the price of Sisal hemp.” 
Of samples of fibre of S. guzneensis, the Kew Se contain one 
specimen machine-cleaned from Jamaica, sent b tt D: Moró 1884, 
ton. TALI a leaf, rope, ae fibre from S.E. pag sent by Mr. T. 
A specimen of leaf and fibre from Sir John Kirk appears 
vieria longiflo 
first figure red “a described oy Dr. Sims in 1826 at tab. 2,634 of the 
Botanical Magazi = The leaves are very like those of S. guineensis, 
but as grown with us, they are lange flatter, not so firm in texture, 
and not invariably blotched with green. The best character by which 
same species it is impossible to at present. There is also a large 
flowered species, called Eaa bracteata, which was gathered by 
Dr. Welwitsch in o 
In 1879 Sir John Kirk forwarded through the Foreign Office a 
specimen of fibre from the leaf of a species of Sansevieria found 
9 feet. The report of Messrs Noble « on ‘this specimen was as follows :— 
n We have carefully examined the fibre from East Africa; it is worth 
187 
Recently Sir John Kirk has been good enough to furnish more 
detailed information as regards the plant yielding this fibre, which 
leads us to conclude that it is probably S. songifora, Sims. [See foot- 
note, p. 2.] In a letter dated 2nd Dec. aga entions :—- 
“Tt grows abundantly near Pangane i the paro opposite the 
“ island of Zanzibar and in the district werid that and Mombasa, and 
“ is used by the natives to yield a long and useful fibre of which I sent 
* specimens to Kew some years ago. 
“The plant has flowered with me at t Mbwéni in the island of 
« Zanzibar, Dat the soil being too dry and sandy it did not succeed 
“ very well. 
« The flowers are on a stalk crowded in a head, not racemose, or in a 
_ spike, as in another species common on the island. Unfortunately 
“ nn flowering specimens rotted in drying, so that I have never been 
