DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 331 



the enterprise was shortly abandoned. Kew has examples of its fiber taken from the 

 trunk. Y. treculeana should also be mentioned, the species having been sent to 

 the Department from Texas and New Mexico, the large leaves of -which would work 

 readily on the sisal hemp machines. Dr. Havard states thnt it yields a good fiber, 

 somewhat similar to that from T. baccata. Among other species of Yucca, William 

 Trelease names Y. guatemalensis, Y. australis, and Y. rupicola, a Texan species, besides 

 several varieties of common species which need not be referred to in this catalogue. 



The economic literature of the Yuccas of Mexico is badly confused, as far as the 

 botanical nomenclature is concerned. It is learned, however, that several species, 

 such as Y. aloifolia, Y. filamentosa, Y. gloriosa, Y. glauca, and Y. treculeana, are 

 regarded as fiber plants in the interior, aud in some instances the attempt has been 

 made to produce fiber from them commercially. In preparing the fiber the leaves 

 are thrown into barrels of hot water, brought to the boiling point, after which they 

 are crushed between two cylinders to remove extraneous matters. The crushed mass 

 is then placed upon hurdles, in such manner that the fibers may be kept straight and 

 separate. The hurdles are then let down into an alkaline bath heated to the boiling 

 point. This is composed of ashes and water, 45 pounds of the former to 121 gallons 

 of the latter. The leaves remain in this solution four hours, though good judgment 

 is necessary that the leaves may be neither over nor underheated. After taking out 

 of the bath the fibers are washed, dried, and combed, the result being a delicate, 

 strong, lustrous, aud white fiber, which is known as St tic. (Condensed from La 

 Revista Agricola, Vol. V, p. 194.) 



Yucca fiber possesses a moderate tenacity, but is somewhat brittle, and can not be 

 made to lose its harshness. The filaments of Yucca are described as white in color, 

 brilliant, and stiff, composed of irregular bundles, the most of which are large. By 

 rubbing briskly between the fingers the bundles break up into finer fibers, but 

 always preserving a great deal of stiffness. The walls are usually thick and the 

 central cavity very apparent. The ends grow slender regularly, and are rounded at 

 the extremity. 



Yucca aloifolia. 



Common names. — Aloe-leaved Adam's needle (Victoria) ; Spanish needle (Trin.) ; 

 dagger plant (W. Ind.) ; Spanish bayonet (Fla.). Ysote (Mex.). 



This species abounds in southern Florida, in thickets of wild vegetation near the 

 coast. Found in many portions of tropical America, southern Europe (as an orna- 

 mental plant), Xorth and South America, Australia, etc. 



Structural Fiber. — From the Australian collections (Phil. Int. Exh., 1876) the 

 Department secured examples of Y. aloifolia, the aloe-leaved Adam's needle, pre- 

 pared by Dr. Guilfoyle, who stated that, though a native of South America, it suc- 

 ceeds admirably in Victoria, and is of moderately quick growth. 



A. aloifolia abounds in Florida wherever the false sisal is found. Sometimes the 

 tracts of this species extend for miles along the coast in broken patches or clumps, 

 the masses of bud leaves often rearing aloft their spiked crowns a dozen feet from 

 the ground. The leaves of this species are too difficult to secure, and too short when 

 secured, to ever prove valuable for fiber production. It produces a fair quality of 

 fiber, however. About 40 pounds of leaves cut on Sands Key and passed through 

 the machine gave a product of about 1 pound of dry fiber, not over 12 to 15 inches 

 long, or the equivalent of 56 pounds to the ton of leaves. This would not pay com- 

 mercially, as the yield is low for an inferior fiber. Pineapple fiber with the same 

 yield would be three or four times as valuable, while the leaves could be gathered 

 for one-fourth the cost. 



* Specimens. — Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. ; Field Col. Mus. 



Yucca baccata. 



High table-lands between the Rio Grande and the Gila, Xew Mexico, also Cali- 

 fornia, Nevada, Utah; western Texas to southern Colorado. (See fig. 2, PI. XII, an 

 allied species.) 



