March, 1910.] 



201 



Fibres. 



evidences that the uniformity of a 

 variety of cultivated plants cau be 

 maintained only by persistent and 

 vigilant selection. The decrease iu the 

 agricultural value of a variety that 

 results from a return to diversity 

 is as real and important as the agri- 

 cultural improvement that is made when 

 diversity is reduced by selection. 



The facts of local adjustment go far 

 to explain the apparently capricious 

 behaviour of cotton varieties in com- 

 parative tests, the same varieties often 

 standing in entirely different relations 

 to one another in different seasons. It 

 becomes evident that the adaptation of 

 a variety to a new place cannot be fairly 

 tested in a single season. Not until a 

 new stock has passed through the process 

 of local adjustment and returned to a 

 normal degree of uniformity can the 

 extent of its adaptation to the new place 

 be definitely ascertained. 



The facts of local adjustment indicate 

 that our superior varieties may be found 

 adapted to much wider regions than 

 they now occupy. Varieties of real 

 value should have their range extended 

 through local adjustment, instead of 

 being discarded because they fail to 

 show their superiority in the first season. 

 The wider extension of a few superior 

 type3 of cotton would make it possible 

 to abandon many local varieties, and 

 would constitute an important step in 

 the progress of the cotton iudustry. 

 Greater unifoimity in the crop over 

 large areas would iucrease its commercial 

 value, and simplify commercial problems 

 of grading and marketing, 



MADRAS SISAL AND OTHER 

 FIBRES. 



(From the Indian Agricultural, Vol. 



XXXIV., No. 7, July, 1909.) 

 That there are possibilities in the 

 cultivation in India of the aloe, or 

 agave as it is known to botanists, for the 

 fibre it yields, is being more widely 

 recognised day by day, Last week our 

 Planting Correspondent noticed the 

 increased attention which the "Muir" 

 Companies are paying to the plant, and 

 by this Mail we have received a copy 

 of the last Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute, which contains an account of 

 the examination and valuation of three 

 samples of aloe fibre sent Home by the 

 Director of Agriculture, Madras. One 

 of these, taken from the Agave rigida, 

 or Sisal fibre as it is known to the trade, 

 is described as of excellent quality, of 

 good lustre, varying in colour from 

 nearly white to pale buff, of very good 



strength aud 3 ft. long. It was valued 



by experts at from £36 to £38 per ton, 

 with Mexican "Sisal" selling at £34 per 

 ton, and it is stated that its value would 

 have been enhanced if the colour had 

 been mora even aud nearly white. A 

 sample or fibre from the Agave ameri- 

 cana, or railway aloe, was extracted 

 from leaves of the age of six years and 

 was of uneven quality. One bundle 

 consisted principally of nearly white, 

 lustrous fibre, which was fairly well 

 cleaned, whereas the rest of the fibre 

 was somewhat gummy, of poor lustre, 

 and had a quantity of greenish pulp 

 adhering to it- The strength was un- 

 even, but mostly good, aud the length 

 varied from 2 to 3 feet, whereas a rope- 

 making fibre should be at least 3 feet 

 in length. The greenish colour and the 

 gummy and pulpy nature of the bulk 

 of the sample were said to be due to 

 insufficient washing. This fibre was 

 inferior to the sample of Agave rigida, 

 and was valued at £27 to £28 per ton, 

 with Mexican "Sisal" at £34 per ton. 

 The sample of Furcrooea fibre, which 

 was also extracted from leaves of the 

 age of six years, consisted of fairly well- 

 cleaned fibre, varying from buff to 

 nearly white, of fair lustre, but a 

 little gummy and stiff. It was of un- 

 even strength, and from 2 to 3 feet long. 

 This sample, according to the Report, 

 would have been more valuable if it 

 had been more even in colour and less 

 gummy and of a more suitable length 

 for rope-making purpose. It was valued 

 by the experts at from £26 to £27 per 

 ton. 



The cultivation of " Sisal " fibre is said 

 to be going ahead enormously iu Ger- 

 man East Africa and, as is well known, 

 it has converted certain islands in the 

 West Indies, such as the Bahamas, and 

 certain districts of Mexico, which were 

 before practically wide wastes, into 

 valuable profit-yielding estates. There 

 are many who believe that the " Sisal" 

 aloe is capable of achieving equally re- 

 markable results iu India. Some years 

 ago Dr. Mann, at that time Scientific 

 Officer to the Indian Tea Association, 

 and Mr. Hunter published a most 

 interesting pamphlet on the subject, 

 and mere recently Dr. Mann has des- 

 cribed his later experience with the 

 product in the columns of the Agri- 

 cultural Journal of India. The profits 

 likely tc be obtained depend, of course, 

 on the price of the fibre, which has 

 fluctuated a good deal in the past, but 

 the cost of production should not vary 

 very much. Dr. Mann estimated that 

 the cost of growing " Sisal " fibre on an 

 estate of an economical size in Assam 

 would amount to from £14 to £15 per 

 ton including freight and other charges 



