42 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



crossing the southern boundaries of the United States. Some of the species, as the 

 familiar Century plant (A. americana), are cultivated in our conservatories as orna- 

 mental plants. They flower hut once, sending up a flower stalk or "mast" some- 

 times the height of 20 feet, upon which the flowers appear. Two or three species 

 furnish valuable commercial fibers, while others not known to commerce might be 

 utilized in like manner. Several of the species in Mexico yield the distilled liquor 

 known as mescal, as well as the fermented pulque, both of which are national bever- 

 ages. A few of the more interesting of the Agaves that are used for fiber are 

 described at length in the pages which follow, and some others that I have treated 

 for fiber are briefly referred to here. Among the Agaves used by the Indians of the 

 United States maybe mentioned A. heteracantha, which is treated at length on another 

 page. Dr. Havard names A. palmeri and A. parry i as the mescal plants of the Apaches 

 and other Indians. They also yield useful fibers, scraped from the edible portions of 

 the baked leaves. 



In June, 1891, the leaves of some 20 species of Agave were collected at the United 

 States Botanical Gardens, Washington, and run through a Van Buren machine. Small 

 museum specimens only were secured, and the quality of the fiber was found to be 

 as follows: A. americana, fiber as strong as A.sisalana from greenhouse plants, 

 but quite inferior to the Florida-grown fiber. This species is fully described below. 

 A. brauniana, a weak fiber, resembling A. jacquiniana. A. caribasa, fiber similar to 

 A. rariegata in color and general appearance, but finer, and showing less strength 

 than A. americana. A. corderoyi, fiber straight, fine, white, of average strength. A. 

 coccinea, three varieties, worthless. A.flaccida gave a very fine fiber; not straight, 

 approaching in strength that of A. sisalana. A. decipiens, worthless. A. inghami, a 

 coarse, harsh fiber, the filaments smooth and polished, and of such stiffness that the 

 material would make a superior brush fiber, possibly rivaling the tampico of com- 

 merce derived from A. heteracantha. Under repeated tests three filaments stood an 

 average strain of 10 pounds. A. jacquiniana, a very fine, white fiber, but possess- 

 ing no strength. A. pruinosa, worthless. A. kerchovei, a harsher fiber than that 

 obtained from the rigida group below, but apparently having less strength; some- 

 what resembles tampico. J. rigida var. elongata, similar to the preceding, the fiber 

 not distinguishable from it in appearance or strength. A. rigida var. longifolia, gave 

 fiber that was much finer than that from A. sisalana (above), but quite deficient in 

 strength. In appearance it resembles the fiber from A. americana rather than A. sisal- 

 ana, though differing from either. A. rigida var. sisalana (greenhouse plants), the 

 fiber appeared to be finer than that from Florida plants, and not quite so strong. 

 A. salmiana, almost as fine as the fiber from A. americana ; not straight; very little 

 strength. A. viripara, similar to A. inghami, though not so coarse, but of sufficient 

 stiffness to produce a good brush fiber. The fiber if washed when extracted would 

 have come out very white. Three filaments bore an average strain of 7 pounds. 

 These two species yielded about 5 per cent of pure bristle fiber. A. variegata, fiber 

 very white, crinkly, and elastic, stronger than A. americana, but inferior to good sisal 

 hemp. 



Out of 1G species other than A. rigida (varieties) but 2 species can take rank with 

 A. rigida var. sisalana in strength, A. inghami and A. riripara. In the next grade 

 I would place A. flaccida, A. americana, A. kerchovei, and possibly A. corderoyi, while 

 the other species are either not half the strength of J. sisalana or are worthless. .J. 

 lateverena went to pieces in the machine, coming out in short, pulpy fragments. 

 It would be interesting to secure filter from those species as grown in the open air of 

 the Tropics. Xo doubt several of the better species would give fiber of fair strength, 

 though inferior to sisal hemp grown under the same conditions. 



A. Isabel Mnlford, in the Seventh Report of the Missouri Botanical Garden, names, 

 as the Agaves of the United States, .1. virginica, A. rirginica var. tigrina, A. variegata, 

 A. maculata, A. schottii, A. schottiivar. serrulata, A . parviflora, A. lecheguilla, A. utah- 

 ensis, A. deserti, A. applanata, with varieties parrgi and huachncensis, A. shawii. A. 

 palmeri, A. asperrima, A. americHna, A. rigida var. sisalana, A. di cipiens, and two species 



