4 



Christie, were 20,296 bales. It is evident from this that the English market in regard to Sisal hemp 

 is comparatively small. 



As regards Manila hemp the result is very much the same, although in the first instance the bulk 

 of the shipments are received in the United Kingdom. For instance, during the year 1891 there were 

 received in the United Kingdom a total of 448,000 bales of Manila hemp. Of these there were re- 

 shipped to the United States 175,019 bales, leaving 273,081 bales for consumption on this side. Tlie 

 total receipts of Manila hemp in the United States for 1891 (direct and via Europe) were 316,697 bales. 



Taking the combined consumption of Sisal and Manila hemps (known generally as " white 

 hemps"), we find the relative quantities taken on both sides of the Atlantic to be approximately as 

 follows :— United States, 693,391 bales ; United Kingdom, 292,377 bales. . . . 



Jamaica. 



As might be naturally expected, there has been considerable effort made to introduce plants of Sisal 

 hemp for experimental trial in Jamaica. The present Governor of Jamaica, Sir Henry Blake, K.C.M.G., 

 has taken a deep interest in the matter, and land has been established with fibre plants adjoining the Hope 

 Gardens. The plants numbering over 20,000, have made good progress, and the Director of the Bo- 

 tanical Department is in a position to supply suckers on a large scale to those anxious to start a fibre 

 industry. There are large tracts of level and acccessible lands in the plains of Jamaica suitable for 

 growing Sisal hemp, and if the people had taken note of these circumstances some 8 or 10 years ago, 

 they would have been able to take advantage of the recant high prices for white rope fibres, and have 

 realized some share of the fortunes which have fallen to the people at Yucatan. At the present time 

 the circumstances have greatly altered, and the advice given by Mr. Fawcett in regard to caution being 

 necessary before embarking, at this late hour, upon a Sisal-hemp industry on a large scale is probably 

 correct. In two or three years' time the extensive plantations in the Bahamas will be sending their 

 produce to the market, and this, in conjunction with the expected increased returns from Yucatan, must 

 tend to lower prices, unless something very unexpected occurs to create a greatly increased demand for 

 Sisal hemp. 



The steps taken to obtain Sisal hemp plants for Jamaica are detailed in the following extracts from 

 the Annual Report of [the Botanical Department for the year 1889 ; — 



" Sisal Hemp. — There is considerable demand in the island for plants of Sisal hemp. Three years 

 ago I tried to obtain a supply of plants from Yucatan, but the planters there are so anxious to have a 

 monopoly of a trade which brings them large fortunes that only through a special request from the 

 Colonial Secretary to the British Vice-Consul at Progresso was I enabled to secure one dozen plants of 



^? r £n6$ir?i^ the teeth on theed 



leaves, has for some years been growing in the Bahamas, where it was probably introduced from Florida 

 A specimen of the fibre was shown at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition (1886) by his Excellencv Sir 

 Henry Blake, then Governor of the Bahamas. From a test that was made in the railway workshop hv 

 Mr. L. MacKinnon on the fibre extracted by Kennedy's machine, it appeared that it 'is at least as 

 valuable as any fibre previously tested, and moreover, the leaves being without spines on the edges are 

 cheaper to work up The Government of the Bahamas had forbidden the export of this plant fcallel 

 " Pita ] | for a period of three years, but fortunately it has been found possible to get more than 20 000 

 plants from lurks Island, and a plantation has been formed at Hope Garden Mr Stoldart' has 

 superintended the planting. It is expected that it will be found possible to import ' a considerable 

 number of this variety of the plant, and several applications have been received from planters for sud 

 plies of suckers. Considering that the price of Sisal hemp has (recently) fallen from £53 per ton to 

 £27., caution should be exercised in the investment of capital in the enterprise. I should hesitate to re 

 commend its cultivation in any soil which is not suitable to it, and at the same time worthless for othe^ 

 cultivation. 



A later account of the Sisal hemp plants at Jamaica is given in the Bulletin of the Boanical De- 

 partment for October 1891, p. 15 : — 



^, S t ° encou 5 a g e lhe Panting of Sisal in Jamaica, the Government has imported lately from 



Florida 25,000 plants of the same variety as grows in the Bahamas. This is in a ldition to over 51 000 

 already supplied to planters, and to over 20,000 planted in the Hope Gardens. . It is thus possi 

 ble for any one to obtain a few plants for experiment at a very small expense, or in large quantities for 

 laying the foundation of future fibre farms. ..." 



Fibhe Machines. 



Until very recently the only machine in use in Yucatan was a clumsy affair stated to be a native 

 invention, called a raspador.' Rude as this piece of mechanism is, it is said thata native will clean 

 20 leaves a minute with it, though with a considerable per-centage of waste of fibre While tho rasoa 

 dor is said to have been superseded on some plantations, it is more or less generally used at the ores ant 

 time for extracting the immense quantities of Sisal hemp exported. The average work of one machine 

 is claimed to be 7,000 leaves per day with two feeders or operatives. 



The following description of the Yucatan Machine is quoted by Mr. Charles Richards Djj ?4 

 ( "It is simply a wheel, [ike a 4-foot pulley, 6-inch face, with pieces of brass an inch squure°anl 6 

 inches long, running across the face about a foot apart. This wheel runs in a heavy wooden case 

 When working well it makes about 110 revolutions a minuto. The leaf is put in iWotftth a s mil holo 

 in the case and being held by a strong clamp, is allowed to whip downward as tho whoel°movos arou-i 1 

 A heavy block, like the brake of a car wheel, is, by lover, brought to bear on the leaf, pressing it 



