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Fibres can be classified into bark or bast-fibres, and leaf-fibres. 

 The former being all derived from dicotyledonous plants, the latter 

 from monocotyledons. 



Leaf-Fibres. 



The leaf-fibres suited for this country are those derived from 

 Sanseviera, Agave, Fourcroya, Yucca, Pandanus, Musa, (Bananas) 

 (Ananas) Pineapple, Bromelia pinguin, to which may be added 

 Curcidigo and the palms Arenga Caryota. 



Sanseviera. 



There are rive or six species of Sanseviera, most of which arc 

 natives of Africa, but several of them seem closely allied and arc 

 possibly not specifically distinct. Four kinds have long been grown 

 in the Botanic Gardens, Singapore. 



S. Roxburghiana, the Indian Species, Murva. 



S. Guineensis, Konje hemp. 



S. Cylindrica, Ife hemp. 



S. Ehrenbereit, a dwarf kind, of no use for fibre. 



The three first mentioned species all produce excellent fibres 

 which have long been known as bow-string hemps, and extensively 

 used in the countries in which they are indigenous; as cultivated 

 plants, except for ornament, they have been hardly ever brought 

 into trade, although the samples of fibres which have been obtained 

 from them have always been very highly valued. With suitable 

 machinery there can be no reason why they should not be grown 

 as catch-crops by rubber planters and others who have to wait for 

 some years before their main crop comes into bearing. 



Cultivation. 



All the best kinds are cultivated in the same way and grow 

 with the utmost readiness in the Straits Settlements with very lit- 

 tle trouble. They can be propagated from small pieces of the 

 orange coloured rhizome which is usually as thick as a pencil; 

 pieces two or three inches long readily throw up shoots in damp 

 soil and grow rapidly. They can equally well be propagated from 

 leaf-cuttings. The leaves are cut up into pieces about three or four 

 inches long and stuck into sandy damp beds or boxes on their edge 

 about an inch deep. In a fortnight .or three weeks roots and then 

 shoots are produced from the lower edges, and soon after the little 

 plants can be planted out. The soil that they prefer is rather open 

 and fairly damp, sandy or ordinary loose soil suits them well, but in 

 very stiff clay they grow less satisfactorily. Partial shade is requi- 

 site in order to get the leaves full)- developed to their largest size. 



They remain stunted and poor in full sun, but at the same time 

 they are averse to heavy shade, where though they grow persis- 

 tently for many years they do not produce the dense mass of leaves 

 that they do in quite light shade. The plants when old enough often 

 throw up their tall spikes of white flowers like those of a Dracaena, 

 and produce orange-coloured fruits. But it is so much more easy 

 to re-produce the plant from leaf-cuttings or slips that it is not 



worth while to trouble to raise them from seed. 



