and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. —February, 1912. 



185 



TRADE 

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'Tabloid' 



Medical Outfits 



In his book, Scouting for Stanley in 

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No. 264. Size: 

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SHANGHAI BUBNOS AIRES All Rights Resenred 



SISAL CULTIVATION IN INDIA. 



Some three years ago a Committee which was 

 appointed by the Board of Agriculture in India 

 to report on the Indian Fibre Plants expressed 

 the opinion that, under careful cultivation on 

 good land in a moist climate, Sisal could be 

 made to yield the largest, quickest and most 

 profitable returns. The existing data on the 

 subject is scattered and insufficient, but it has 

 been thought desirable, in view of the im- 

 portance of the matter, to bring together the 

 main facts about the fibre plant, its cultivation 

 and extraction of the fibre. 



According to Mann and Hunter Sisal Hemp 

 is botanically known in two varieties, viz , 

 Agave Rigida variety Elongata and Agave 

 Rigida variety Sisalana. The Sisalana variety 

 is considered preferable for the Indian tea 

 districts. The two principal methods of pro- 

 pagation are by " Bubbils," growing on the 

 pole of the flowering stalk and by " Suckers " 

 continuously thrown out from rootstocks. 

 Decided difference of opinion exists as to the 

 class of soil required for a Sisal hemp planta- 

 tion, but a well drained and moderately light 

 soil is considered suitable for the purpose. 

 Those who are in a position to know are of 

 opinion that sisal requires as good, if not a 

 better, soil than tea. The plants are put in 

 nurseries for which a slightly sloping piece of 

 land with a good friable soil is required. Shade 

 trees in the nursery are injurious. With care 

 planting can be done at almost any part of the 

 year, but February to June is considered the 



24 



best time. In India five feet between the 

 plants and nine or ten feet between the rows 

 would seem to be a good distance. The plants 

 should not be buried in the ground above the 

 base of the leaves. In the third year from 

 putting out, the plants attain a height of over 

 four feet and are considered fit to afford a 

 first crop of leaves. The leaves are considered 

 ready to cut when they extend at right angles 

 to the stem. Cutting may be made at all 

 times of the year, but in the Indian tea districts 

 the operation is limited to the months from 

 October to June. The maximum quantity of 

 fibre per acre that can be expected from 3years 

 old plants is one to two cwts. During the fol- 

 lowing year a return of five cwts per acre mav 

 be expected which will be more than doubled 

 in the fifth year. The number of leaves per 

 plant varies a good deal from 25 — 30 at Lucknow, 

 35 in Sontal Parganas, 50 in Saharanpur, 

 Cachar, Sylhet, 60—70 in Port Blair, 72 in 

 Mertinga (Assam) to 80 in Poona. 



On an average, 50 to 60 lb. of marketable 

 fibre is considered a fair outturn, though some 

 patches may give as high a yield as 100 lb. of 

 fibre per 1,000 leaves. The plants continue to 

 yield an annual supply of leaves till they pole. 

 Little reliable information is available as to the 

 period which elapses before poling under Indian 

 cultivation. It depends on the individuality 

 of the plant and even more on its environment. 

 Plants pole in good soil after the sixth or 

 seventh year. They generally pole earlier in 

 good soil than in poor. At the first sign of 

 poling large plants will be available to replace 



