DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 333 



Economic CONSIDERATIONS. — Twenty years ago this liber Lad attracted serious 

 attention in the South, and at that time line specimens and a rough fabric resem- 

 bling matting were sent to the Department from Mr. Stoner, of Stonypoint, La., 

 ■who patented, a machine for the extraction of Yucca fiber. After passing through 

 the machine the "mashed'' leaves were subjected to "a thorough system of wash- 

 ing," which left the fiber "as white as Irish linen." Notwithstanding the efforts of 

 Mr. Stoner, the industry did not succeed. 



Further experiments were made by Walter T. Forbes in 1890, and it was claimed 

 that 85 per cent of pure fiber could be secured at very low cost. In 1893 a quantity 

 of the leaves of this plant were secured by the Department in Georgia and sent to 

 J. C. Todd, Faterson, N. J., to be cleaned on the Todd sisal hemp machine. The 

 cleaning was successfully accomplished, and a supply of the fiber was thus obtained 

 sufficient for examination and for testing. This fiber was very dark, yellowish in 

 color, harsh, and somewhat brittle. The result of a number of tests with this fiber, 

 twisted by hand to the size of binding twine, showed a breakage strain varying from 

 45 to 55 pounds, which is about half the strength of Kentucky hemp. This should 

 not be regarded, however, as an authoritative test, as such a trial should be made 

 with machine-manufactured twine to be comparative. However, the fiber will doubt- 

 less be found inferior in strength to any of the commercial cordage fibers now in 

 use, and quite inferior to manila and common hemp. 



If the plant could be grown over an area sufficiently large to supply the amount 

 of fiber needed to cover or wrap our cotton, it might be used to make a better wrap- 

 ping than jute. Bear grass might be given a trial for this purpose. While it has 

 been accepted that fiber under 2^ feet in length can not be advantageously used by 

 manufacturers, Mr. Todd states that a shorter cordage fiber can be worked, though 

 possibly not on all forms of machinery. The question of the cost of gathering the 

 leaves and of extracting the fiber may need to be investigated before an attempt is 

 made to establish a bear grass fiber industry. Eegarding the extent of supply of 

 leaves, it would seem to be almost inexhaustible, as large wild tracts of the plants 

 are found in many of the Southern and Western States, and special cultivation would 

 not be necessary, as the leaves are reproduced rapidly after cutting. The Georgia 

 leaves cleaned by Mr. Todd in December, 1892, were received from John T. Haunson, 

 Longview, Ga., who states that they had grown since July of that year. 



In Bernardin's list I find Yucca filarftentosa is also called henequen {Agave rigida, 

 etc.), from which it may be inferred that the Yucca has been regarded to a certain 

 extent a commercial fiber, probably exported with the sisal fiber under the one name, 

 henequen, just as Cannabis satira is sometimes exported from India with Crotalaria 

 juncea, under the name sunn. "It seems certain that in the cargoes of Pita which 

 arrive at the markets of Europe there is found a proportion, more or less considerable, 

 of Yucca fiber. It is difficult to distinguish the one from the other, and it is adaptable 

 to the same uses." ( Vetillart.) The species referred to is not known, but it is not Y. 

 Jilamcntosa, for the color of this fiber and of "Pita" doubtless Agave americana, are 

 so unlike that the fraud would have been detected at a glance. 



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



Yucca gloriosa. 



Common names. — Adam's needle (U. S.); mound lily (Austr.) ; Petre hemp (Sp.) 

 (the latter name valueless). 

 The species is common in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and the southeastern 

 coast to Texas; not noted by the author in southern Florida. Introduced in other 

 countries, as Africa and India. Fiber similar to that from Y. filamentosa. 



Yucca glauca. 



Syn. Y. angustifolia. 



Hopi Indian name, Mohii. Its soapy root mohu-mobi. (Feivkes.") 

 Southwestern United States, Arizona, and Mexico, extending northward to 

 Montana. 



