Some Mexican Fiber Plants. 



33 



gunnysack is then gathered up by the laborer and carried in 

 a net or bag swung in front and suspended from the waist. 



The apparatus for twisting the rope yarn consists simply of a 

 wheel some six inches in diameter set rigid upon an axle which 

 rests in sockets in a p ir of posts. The wheel is kept in revolu- 

 tion by means of a cord passed around the axle and operated by 

 a child. Usually two of these wheels are set up close together 

 with their axles parallel and operated simultaneously. The 

 spinner attaching a wisp of the fiber to the projecting end of 

 the axle which is then set in motion, backs away, feeding out 

 the fiber at an appropriate rate until a coarse thread or yarn 

 is made 100 to 150 feet in length. These strands are given 

 a "lay" by the twisting, and by repeated doubling of the yarns 

 and employing the contrary torsion in the usual manner, a cord 

 of the desired size is obtained. Or the yarns may be threaded 

 into a rude wooden tread-loom for the manufacture of matting 

 or bagging. This machine is provided with two treadles, upon 

 which the operator stands, one under each foot. The hands 

 are then free to operate the bobbin, two feet in length, which 

 boys wind with the yarn spun in the manner above described. 

 This business is one very common in Mexico in those regions 

 where much fiber is produced. It constitutes one of the prin- 

 cipal activities of the Campania Ganadera y Textil on the 

 Hacienda de Cedros, from which, according to recent reports, 

 ninety-three tons of palma fiber alone are shipped annually. 



The articles made from these fibers are strong, firm and 

 compact, though somewhat coarse and rough. They are such 

 articles as one sees everywhere in use in Mexico, articles very 

 well adapted to the purpose for which they are intended. A 

 kind of heavy matting much used as a floor covering in offices 

 and similar places serves its purpose well. The morral as the 

 Mexican calls it is used as a nosebag for horses, as a saddle bag, 

 also, and articles of general convenience. Sweat pads under 

 saddles also come from the fibers of these plants. Besides these 

 we find various kinds of cordage, including the lariat, of great 

 strength and durability. For the last purpose, however, the 

 palma and maguey are more highly esteemed, as they yield a 

 more soft and pliable product. Much of the fiber, both of home 

 and of foreign manufacture, finds its way into brushes, of which 

 a great variety may be found. The amount of fiber taken from 



