38 
91]. The oe description of it is quoted by Mr. Charles 
Richards Dodge 
“Tt is simply a wheel, like a 4-foot pulley, 6-inch face, with pieces of 
brass an inch square, and 6 inches s long, running across the face about a 
foot apart. This wheel runs in a heavy wooden case. When working 
well it makes about 110 revolutions a minute. The leaf is put in 
through a small hole in the ease, and being held by a strong clamp, is 
allowed to whip downward as the wheel moves around. A hea eavy block, 
like the brake of a car-wheel, is, by lever, brought to bear on the leaf, 
pressing it inst the revolving w eel. In a second the pulp is 
crushed and thrown into a pit under the wheel, and the fibre is drawn 
back, one half of the leaf being cleaned quicker than one can follow the 
motions. The leaf is reversed and the other end cleaned in the same 
manner.” 
In the Bulletin of the Botanical Department, Jamaica, July 1891, a 
report is published d of the results of experiments with the Weicher fibre 
achine at Jamaica, ‘The machine was driven haf steam power, and it 
pk eatin ne sic ables to feed it and remove the 
A the leaves cle ris were those of the Sisal hemp plants, 
bow Modi Và var. Teló ongata, and Agave rigida, var. sisalana. Th 
results may be briefiy diimntiarisod as follows: 115 leaves (weighing 185 
inu 
202 pounds, and dry fibre weighing 81 pounds. The vanus of dry 
fibre per day of 10 cgi would thus be about 291 poun 
the Bahamas merican machine known as ‘the ‘Albee Smith 
fibre-cleaning machine was lately tried. An account given by the 
United States Con kit ut Nassau, dated July 10th, 1891, states that :— 
* Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the machine t 
run properly, owing to the fact that the steam plant used was Mes cg 
and the pulley and belts were not of the proper size, width, But, 
despite these drawbacks, the operation of the machine was sa aid to be 
decidedly satisfactory, and nearly all present were of opinion that, under 
proper conditions, the machine would very easily do all that was 
claimed for it, and that it was a most ilab improvement over all 
other machines in use in the colony. The new machine is entirely 
automatic. It grips the leaves continuously as fast as the operators 
can supply them, holds them firmly during the operation of cleaning, 
and delivers the fibre completely and beautifully cleaned at the further 
side, No reversing of the leaves or any part of I d mach etai is re- 
quired. The operator simply supplies the leaves, and the machine 
does the rest. It is said to be capable. of cleaning 30, 000 levis a day, 
extracting therefrom 3,000 Ibs. of fibre.’ 
It will be noticed that the exact returns are not here given. Those 
claimed for the machine by the makers are evidently purely conjectural, 
wing regard to the tested results of other fibre machines, it is 
impossible to attach any importance to them 
Nu us ye fibre en s have been brought before the publie 
during recent rs. Some of these are of undoubted merit, but it is 
evident that ‘the ‘expectations rot cultivators of Agave plants have not yet 
been ful y met. The conditions existing in Tuua, where clu umsy 
and wastcful machines a hitherto been adopted with apparent success, 
are of a n charac ur there is so cheap that cadeau 
can afford on abs industry under circumstances entirely 
mae to Dee -— of the world. -a improvements have, 
lately American machines, and 
t 
