14 



considered too poor in the constituents necessary to plant life to make it worth whilo to attempt any 

 cultivation upon it, and whilst ihis may be true as regards a lack of decomposed, vegetable matter yet 

 the shelly, s»line sands will be found to suit such plants as the yuccas, agaves, etc , both chemically 

 and physically better than the rich, black hummack lands.' 



The soil in the Merida distiict of Yucatan is described as stony and sterile and compose! chiefly 

 of disintegrated lime-rock. This region is only a few feet above the sea-level, and the whole Sisal 

 country is described as low and flat. 



During my recent visit to Florida the bad effect of shade upon large plants was noted in several 

 maiked instances, the plants being less thrifty, and the leaves sometinus so spindling and thin as to 

 have lost their rigid habit and to be bent and diooping 



Upon the subject of cultivation and care of the plantation, Mr. Edgar Bacon make3 suggestions 

 as follows : — 



'Experienced growers use G50 plants to 1he acre in rows 11 feet by 6 feet distant from each 

 other. This will give room for the labourers to walk between the rows without being wounded by 

 the teriible spurs, which like a cluster of keen spears make each plant a menace to the unwary. Be- 

 sides this ihe closer planting would result in the piercing of innumerable leaves every time the wind 

 blew, and the consequent destruction of much fibre. Stabs and bruises mean discoloration, and the 

 expense of sorting damaged lots apart from the proportional loss would b3 an added and not insigni- 

 ficant, item in the labor account of a plantation. Mnny people who have caught the sisal fever are 

 planting acre ofier ucre expecting nothing less than that the farms, when planted will take care of 

 themselves. To be successful in this enterprise requires unceasing activity and care. One must b8 

 Argus eyed. One season of poor prices with the consequent discouragement which is apt to follow in 

 the <ase of nine small proprietors out of ten, in a country where the peasantry are all negroes, will 

 result in an overgrowth of suckers and the poling of mature plants till nothing short of absolute 

 clearing and starting anew will save the farms. There is no cultivation where system and persever- 

 ance are more necessary to success. The dropping of the seed from a single " pole," if not witched 

 and attended to immediately, will produce little spears enough to destroy a hundred plants, and I have 

 frequently seen a dozen suckers start up around and under the leaves o* their parent. After such 

 crowding, the leaves would be worthless, even could they be reached; but no man, unless arrayed in 

 metal armour strong and stout enough to withstand the thrust of steel, would be so foolhardy as to at- 

 tempt to penetrate such a growth. What I want to impress is the fact that without that patient and 

 systematic care which I nowhere observed as characteristic of the unled negro, a field of sisal is as 

 valueless as a field of mullein.' 



It is desirable that the young plants be set out in perfectly straight rows anl upright, for if not, 

 and they grow up at angles in all directions, there will be difficulty in getting between them when the 

 leaves aie harvested. Regarding the suckers, there is no question but that, they should be removed, 

 for to allow them to remain will be a positive detriment to the parent plants. If they are not needed 

 for the planting of new fields they should be thrown away. In sttting out these suckers in Yucatan 

 the planting is said to be very simply accomplished : a little hole is dug and the plant introduced, after 

 which it is propped up by a few stones and left to take care of itself until the time for taking off the 

 fir6t leaves. When cultivating suckers in the nursery, the practice in Florida is to set them out 10 or 

 12 inches apart in rows, where they remain until large enough to set out in the fields. Suckers are 

 not relied upon alone for the propagation of the plant. When the old plant flowers it sends up a 

 stalk, or " pole," as it is calltd, to the height of 15 or sometimes 20 feet. After the tulip-shaped 

 blossoms which appear have begun to wither there now starts forth from the point of contact with the 

 flower-stalk a bud, which develops into a tiny plant, which, when grown to the length of several 

 inches, becomes detached and falls to the ground. Such " pole plants" as come in contact with the 

 soil take roc t, and in a very short time are large enough to transplant. 



In the Bahamas these flower-stalk plants are largely utilized in establishing Sisal fields, and with 

 as good results as where the suckers alone are used. Precisely the same course must be pursued in 

 Florida. 



A single " pole" or "mast" produces from one to two thousand plants, while only a few suckers 

 are formed at the base of each old plant 



The prohibitory regulations of other countries, from which supplies might be obtained, make it 

 obligatory upon the people of Florida to protect themselves. In a letter from Mr. Van Buren upon 

 this subject leceived last fall, be says: 



'The regulation of the Bahamas make it impossible for us to get the plants, except at a large 

 cost, $49 per 1,000 and a risk of fine and imprisonment besides. I have also a letter recently from 

 the United States Consul at Honduras, stating the same facts, and that the price there would be $50 

 per 1,100, the Government having imposed heavy duties to prevent their exportation. In view of 

 these facts 1 would respectfully suggest that our Government should take steps to prevent plants being 

 exported fit m our country.' .... 



In establishing Sisal* hemp plantations, it should be understood at the outset that small planta- 

 tions, put out by individuals, isolated from each other, will not. pay. A largo tract is necessary for 

 economical production of fibre, that the woik of cutting the leaves and shipping the fibre may be sys- 

 tematically continued, for the most part, through the year. This is the system in vogue in Yucatan 

 and the Bahamas, and we must follow it in Flor ida. Mr. Cleminson, writing upon this point, says : 



' With regard to my own experience in Flor ida, it is certainly ex: emnental, as I have had no 

 returns. I have 50,000 plants one year old in nursery form, and 10 acres planted out with 2-year old 

 plants. So far as the growth is considered it is satisfactory, but it requires about 500 acres to suc- 

 cessfully enable one to operate machinery economically.' 



