VIIIL—PLANTAIN aw BANANA FIBRE. 
(Musa sapientum, R. Br.) 
Tn connection with Manila hemp some reference wey be made to fibres 
produced by other moe of the genus Musa. ate re ia ag 
“ Musa which might yield good air, but so far none appears t 
“ been found equal to the plant yielding Manila hemp. The following 
“ facts have been elicited by recent experiments. A banana stem just 
“ after fruiting, cut as is usual with the country people, about 2 feet 
“ above ground, and denuded of its foliage, weighed 108 pounds; this 
“& being divided "into three lengths of 24 feet each and split longitudi- 
“ nally into several pieces was prepared by beating and washing by 
“ hand, and yielded 25 ounces of clean marketable fibre, which is at 
“ the rate of 1°44 per cent. of the gross weight. The fibre of the 
“ lower portion of the stem, as also the fibre in the petioles of the leaves, 
“& was not extracte 
« A smaller banana, cut under similar circumstances, ee p 2 feet 
“ from the ground, and denuded of its foliage, weighed 41 pounds. 
“ This was divided into two lengths of 24 feet each, and gE jo 
= se oog tudinally into several pieces was prepar y hand, pot 
« yield ed 63 ounces a ER clean fibre or at the rate of 1°02 per c 
“ weig nt. 
“From ordinary stems of banana, cut after fruiting at about 1} to 
“ 2 feet above ground, a settler might easily prepare oont 1} pounds 
a va clear fibre, but if the stems are large, and if the whole length is 
as well as the petioles of the leaves, the Ae ae of fibre might. 
= be orel to 2} pounds if not 3 pounds per 
“ With plantain stems* the results are more sa pao than with 
3 the banana, both as regards the yield pee the quality of the fibre. 
“ At the Castleton Gardens, a plantain stem weighing, when cut and 
« dressed, 25 pounds, was prepared in exactly the same manner as the 
“ gross weight. The plantain fibre is whiter and finer than the banana 
“ fibre, and it approa ag eee ik ITA to the fine glossy character of 



* It is to be understood that in spree notes ‘apd ob aggre is what is used as a vege- 
table, while the banana is the soft swee n tables for dessert, In India 
the name plantain appears to be inte indifferently 1 & both of these 
