April 1907.J 213 Fibres, 



because of the ignorance of the labour used to operate them. The machines used in 

 Yucatan, and the cost of each, are shown in the following table, prepared by the 

 American Consul in Merida :— 



Hemp-cleaning Machines in actual use upon the Plantations in Yucatan. 



Machine. 



Lanaux reformed 

 Frieto ,, 

 Torroella ,, 

 Villamor ,, 

 Stephens 

 Solis 



Number of 

 leaves cleaned 

 in ten hours. 



150,000 

 150,000 

 100,000 

 100,000 

 150,000 

 9,000 



Number of 

 men needed. 



Actual horse- 

 power. 



25 

 16 

 10 

 10 

 70 

 9 



Cost of Machine. 



Mexican Cur- 



United States 



rency.* 



Currency. 



$7,000 



$3,003 



8,000 



3,689 



7,000 



3,003 



5,000 



2,145 



t 



t 



2,000 



858 



-Farmers Bulletin. 



NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

 (Phormium Tenax.) 



This useful and most profitable plant has been brought most prominently 

 before the Victorian public recently by a Mr. Tait, who has an invention which is 

 said to be a new method of extracting the fibre. As an effort has been made to 

 float a company to work the same, considerable inquiries have been made for 

 particulars as to what the plant consists of. 



It is somewhat surprising the confusion that exists in the minds of many 

 as to what constitutes New Zealand flax, and flax produced from the plant 

 Linum usitatUsimum. These plants differ widely. As the Linum, which was 

 dealt with in the last issue of the Journal, is now favourably and well known 

 in the State, and need not be further referred to, the only object in writing this 

 brief treatise is to place a few facts before those who may be interested in 

 Phormium tenax. The plant is well known in Victoria, and may be seen growing 

 in most of our gardens. It is the priucipal plant employed for filling up all new 

 plantations along streets, as it is hardy, and thrives well under most conditions. 



The Agave varieties, which produce the well-known Aloe fibre, are also 

 confused with the Phormium tenax. It will be readily recognised, as many vareities 

 may be seen growing in yards and elsewhere. 



NATURE OP THE PLANT. 



Sir James Hector, in his valuable publication on Phormium tenax, which 

 has passed through several editions, gives the following description. 



"Phormium tenax, belonging to the Silaceous family of plants, was first 

 mentioned as occurring in New Zealand by Captain Cook, who says :— 'The country 

 produced a grass plant, like flags, of the nature of hemp or flax, but inferior in 

 quality to either. Of this the natives make clothing, lines, nets, etc' Royle states 

 that ' the leaves of the plant are perennial, hard, sword-shaped, and from 5 to 7 

 feet in length, with a flower-stalk rising 1 feet or 5 feet above them, and bearing 

 a prof usion of flowers, followed by triangular seed vessels, filled with flat and thin, 

 black, shining seeds. It was introduced in the year 1798 into the South of Ireland, 

 and has been found to flourish on the west coast of Scotland, though European 

 winters are occasionally too severe for it.' 



* The average value of the Mexican peso in 1902, according to the United States mint, was, 

 42 '9 cents. 



\ No more being made, 



