Fibres. 



[April, 1909. 



much capital invested, as land is valu- 

 ed at least at £40 per acre. In America, 

 with black labour at one dollar per day, 

 and an average yield of 200 lb. of 

 lint, the land is valued at £2 10s. per 

 acre, and the whole cotton belt, which 

 has only 7 per cent, under cotton, at 

 £1 5s. 



In conclusion, the writer prognosti- 

 cates a great future for cotton in 

 the dry zone? of Ceylon during the 

 warm season (provided the water is 

 conserved and distributed to the many 

 acres of fertile land, which are at 

 present largely covered by jungle), 

 when it is considered that there is at 

 present something approaching 200,000 

 acres of irrigable land, and many other 

 acres which could be brought under 

 irrigation without interfering with the 

 present cultivations, there being only 

 75,000 acres under cultivation and over 

 2,000,000 aci-es in the North-Central 

 Province alone awaiting the plough. 



J. STEWART J. McCALL 



SISAL HEMP IN GERMAN EAST 

 AFRICA. 



A good example of what may be 

 achieved by energy and common sense, 

 in establishing new industries in a 

 colony, is afforded by the work done in 

 German East Africa in the sisal industry. 

 For years the rich returns to be derived 

 from planting sisal have been reiterated 

 to farmers and planters in Queensland, 

 but with small result. Since Mr. P. 

 McLean introduced some plants from 

 the Bahamas some twelve years ago, the 

 price of sisal fibre has ranged from £50 

 per ton in 1902 to £37 per ton in 1907. In 

 1908 there was a sudden fall in price to 

 £30 in March and £25 in June, owing to 

 manipulation of the Manila hemp market. 

 (See table in the Pamphlet on the Sisal 

 Hemp Industry, issued by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and Stock.) Since 

 then the price has again risen, until, in 

 December, 1908, we were advised that 

 the value of Fourcroya fibre (Mauritius 



hemp) in England was £30 per ton, and, 

 as this fibre is usually from £3 to £4 less 

 in value than sisal, it follows that the 

 price of the latter has risen pro- 

 portionately. 



Dr. Maxwell, in his report on the 

 Mackay Sugar Experiment Station, just 

 issued, deplores the want of enterprise 

 on the part of the farmers in the dis- 

 trict, no application having been made 

 by them for sisal suckers wherewith to 

 start a paying business. 



Turn we to the German colony for a 

 contrast. 



Attention has been given to sisal hemp 

 cultivation in German East Africa since 

 1893 (says the "Agricultural News" of 

 Barbadoes), and the increasing value of 

 the industry is evident from the fact 

 that the exports of fibre during 1906 

 were valued at £66,900, as compared 

 with £43,900 in 1905 and £28,300 in 1904. 



The industry was started by the im- 

 portation of a small number of plants 

 from Florida fifteen years ago. Machi- 

 nery for the extraction of the fibre was 

 imported in 1899, and the first exports 

 were made in 1900- In 1904 the number 

 of plants dealt with was 1,300,000, which 

 yielded 624 tons of fibre, this being equi- 

 valent to an average yield of 17 oz. of 

 fibre per plant. In the following year 

 the average return of fibre rose to 25 oz. 

 per plant, but in 1906 it dropped to 22 oz. 

 It is calculated that if 800 plants per 

 acre are grown, an annual crop of 900 

 to 1,200 lb. per acre should be obtained. 



The machine employed for the extrac- 

 tion of the fibre is the one used in 

 Yucatan, and is known as the " Molla." 

 It costs £650, is capable of dealing with 

 about 100,000 leaves in ten hours, and 

 requires 48-hp. to drive it. In order to 

 keep this machine sufficiently employed, 

 a plantation of at least 600,000 plants 

 is necessary. This (allowing distances 

 of 3| by 8| ft. between the plants) re- 

 presents an area of about 310 acres.— 

 ueensland Agricultural Journal, Vol. 

 XII., Part 2, February, 1909, p. 94. 



