217 



The men who attend the drying el fibre after extraction, ami collect it 



dry and carry it to press lor packing, an- paid as follows:— 



If the service is don,, by tramway, one nan is re.jiiir.-a foreuch 20.000 

 leaves, and his daily wage is 50 c, and the work is done on small cars 

 drawn by hand. 



If the service is performed by hand small boys and men unable to do 

 harder work are employed, calculating one for each 10,000 leaves, the; 

 being paid 25 c. da ilv ; this system being much longer in question of 

 time. The .nan who .dears away refuse gains 37 1 c. daily. 



The engine driver gains from 20 dol. to 10 dol. per month. On 

 large farms a stoker is also employed at 50 c. daily. 1 kilom. of 

 portal >le railway, of 50 coiitims. wide and 5 kilos, to the metre, costs, 

 laid down, about 1,400 dol. One platform ear for earrying 3,000 leaves 

 costs about 150 dol. 



The pressing of hemp fibre into bales is done on the farms by means 

 of lever or screw presses, by hand or by hydraulic pressure. Tin latter 

 are now becoming general. 



The bales vary from 350 lbs. to 400 lbs., some farms going to 450 lbs. 

 but as a medium weight on the entire production a weight of 300 lbs. 

 is used. 



The cubic measurement of ordinary bales is about 22 feet ; with 

 hydraulic presses, on same basis of 350 lbs. or 400 lbs., about 20 feet 

 per bale. 



On most farms the pressing is done apart from other work, and paid 

 for, from 10 c. to 15 c. per hale, according to class of press used. One 

 i daily, so that his wage is from 



The screw presses are American manufacture, and cost from 

 250 dol. to 500 dol. each. The hydraulic preseea are English manu- 

 facture, and cost from 3,000 dol. to 6,000 dol, according to size and 



The bands put on hales are made on the farms by farm hands, who 

 are paid from 25 c. to 50 c. daily. Each bale re.piir.-s from 100 feet to 

 120 feet of rope, weighing from 3* lbs. to 5 lbs., for each bale. 

 Acconling to si/e and weight of each" bale from 4 bands to 6 bauds are 

 put on each. The cost of bands is about 5 c. each. The bales are 

 sold, including the weight of bands, these being usually made of the 

 inferior grades of fibre. 



The marks of bales cost the farmer about 1 c. each, being made from 

 gunny bags. 



The cost of administration of farms is calculated from 50 dol. to 

 100 dol. monthly, according to size. The head servant gains from 



bring up the amount to the first named sum. 



The owner of a farm only treats with the head servant, who renders 

 him all accounts, and this servant attends to all the work, receiving his 

 Orders from the owner. 



Fuel for engine is wood, obtained from the farm itself. The way of 

 obtaining same is varied, bur the general custom I- hy piecework, of 

 about 75 lbs. to 125 lbs., when wood is dry or wet. Tnis amount is 

 paid for from 37$ c. to 50 c 



Coal is not used on farms, due to the very heavy expenses it incurs 

 from landing in Progreso to a farm, such expenses being some 10 dol. 

 per ton over cost of same in port. 



A part of general expenses of a farm are the cleaners or weeders of 

 plantations and these are paid at the rate of 25 c. per mecate. Tina 

 cleaning has to be done at least once a year. 



