Fibres, 



214 



[September, 1909. 



FIBRES FROM FIJI. 



(From the Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute, Vol. VI., No. 4, 1908.) 



The fibres described in the following 

 report were forwarded from Suva, Fiji, 

 in December, 1907, for examination and 

 valuation. They consisted of very care- 

 fully prepared specimens of Sisal, 

 Mauritius and bowstring hemps, and of 

 ramie ribbons and filasse. 



Sisal Hemp. 



It was stated that this sample had 

 been grown in the Government House 

 grounds, and prepared by a Death and 

 Ellwood fibre machine. It consisted of 

 perfectly cleaned and nearly white 

 fibre, of very good lustre and even 

 diameter. The product was from 4 to 

 5 feet long, and of very good strength. 



On chemical examination it yielded 

 the following results : — 



•Sisal hemp 

 Present from Brit.E. 

 sample Africa for 

 from Fiji, comparison. 

 Per cenr. Per cent. 

 Moisture ... 8-7 11-1 



Ash ... 05 TO 



a-Hydrolysis (loss) ... 8'5 11'2 

 b-Hydrolysis (loss) ... 10'7 141 

 Acid purification (loss) 0'9 2"3 

 Cellulose ... 79-0 78-2 



This fibre was of excellent quality, 

 superior in composition to many samples 

 of Sisal hemp previously examined at 

 the Imperial Institute, and would be 

 valuable for rope-making. The com- 

 mercial experts to whom the fibre was 

 submitted considered that it was worth 

 £34 to £35 per ton (with Mexican Sisal 

 at £25 to £27 per ton), and that it would 

 be a strong competitor of the Sisal hemp 

 now produced in German East Africa. 

 Mauritius Hemp. 

 This fibre was stated to have been 

 prepared at the Government Experi- 

 mental Factory, Fiji, from leaves grown 

 at Koronibello, Bua, Vanua Levu. 



It was soft, well prepared, of good 

 colour, lustre, and strength, and from 

 4 to 6 feet long. 



The results of its chemical examin- 

 ation are given in the following table, to 

 which, for convenience of comparison, 

 are added the results yielded by a 

 sample of the fibre from Mauritius. 



Present Sample 

 sample from Mau- 

 from Fiji. ritius. 

 Per cent. Per cent. 

 Moisture ... 9-5 130 



Ash ... 1*0 2-5 



a-Hydrolysis (loss) ... 14 7-5 

 b-Hydrolysis (loss) ... 16-5 18-3 

 Acid purification (loss)... 51 2-0 

 Cellulose ... 780 76'4 



The results of the chemical examin- 

 ation show this fibre to be superior 

 to the sample from Mauritius which 

 was examined at the Imperial Institute. 

 It was of good length and strength, and 

 would make excellent ropes. The fibre 

 was valued by commercial experts at 

 about £31 per ton (with " good average " 

 Mauritius hemp at £22 10s. per ton). 



Bowstring Hemp. 

 This fibre, derived from Sanseveira 

 guineensis, was prepared at the Govern- 

 ment Experimental Factory from leaves 

 grown in the Government House grounds. 



It was an excellent specimen, nearly 

 white, of good lustre, fairly even 

 diameter and good strength, and 2\ feet 

 long. 



On chemical examination it gave the 

 results which are tabulated and com- 

 pared below with those furnished by a 

 sample from Sierra Leone. 



Sanseveira guineenis 

 Present sam- from Sierra 

 pie from Fiji. Leone. 

 Percent. Percent. 

 Moisture ... 8-6 10 6 



Ash ... ... 0-5 0-4 



a-Hydrolysis (loss) 9 - ] 8 9 



b-Hydrolysis (loss) 121 13 9 



Acid purification (loss) 13 1*8 

 Cellulose ... 75'0 78-0 



This fibre compared very favourably 

 with previous samples examined at the 

 Imperial Institute, but was rather short 

 for rope-making. It was regarded by 

 commercial experts as worth about £27 

 per ton. 



Conclusions. 

 These three fibres were of superfine 

 quality, and would be readily saleable 

 in large quantities. The bowstring 

 hemp was, however, rather short, and 

 it was recommended that efforts should 

 be made to obtain a fibre of longer 

 staple, since the shortness detracts con- 

 siderably from its value. 



The commercial experts, to whom the 

 fibres were submitted, stated that they 

 would be interested to learn whether 

 commercial supplies are likely to be 

 available in the near future. 



Ramie. 



Two samples of ramie were received, 

 one consisting of ribbons and the other 

 of filasse. 



The ribbons, said to have been ob- 

 tained by passing the stems through a 

 Death and Ellwood fibre machine, were 

 clean, well-prepared, of pale-greyish 

 straw clour and much stiffer than a 

 standard sample of hand-scraped China 

 grass. The strength was normal and the 



