THft TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1867- 
into numerous narrow strips. These, after being 
passed between rollers to get rid of the water and 
mucilage, might be dried in the sun, and after- 
wards put up in compressed bales for shipment. 
The whole subject resolves itself into a question 
of cost, and it can only be practically solved in 
couutries like Demerara, Trinidad, and Jamaica, 
where several thousand acres are occupied by banaua 
plantations, and where sufficient material lies close 
at hand to maintain a moderately large industry. 
For some years considerable interest has been 
taken by the Government of Bengal in the subject 
of the utilisation of plantain stems for the manu- 
facture of paper. In a Report presented by Dr. King, 
Superintendent of the Royal Botanical Gardens at 
Calcutta, he mentions : — " Since receiving these papers 
" I have gone into the whole matter with some care, 
" and I now give you the results. Before proceeding 
" further, I wish to explain that in the following 
" remarks the term plantain fibre is used to desig- 
nate the fibres of the various kinds of plantain found 
'' wild and cultivated within the Indian Empire, but 
<* does not include the fibre of the Manila plantain 
" (Musa textilis), which is a fibre of an altogether 
<f exceptional kind. The fibre of the Manila plantain, 
" usually known as Manila hemp, is one of the most 
" valuable fibres known, and is worth in Londou 
" from 30?. to 401. a ton, a price that takes it quite 
" out of the range of raw materials for paper. 
" I have ascertained by reference to a large English 
" paper-maker, that if it can be delivered cheap 
"enough, plantain fibre would be readily bought- in 
" England for paper-making. Quotations as to the 
" exact value of the fibre can hardly be given until 
" a trial shipment has been put on the home market. 
" Esparto is the fibre against which plantain fibre 
" would be pitted as a raw material for the paper- 
" maker, and the price of the best Spanish esparto 
" now (1883) stands in London at about 101. per 
" ton. It is not likely that plantain fibre would be 
" so valuable as esparto, but it might bring as much 
" as 71. to 81. per ton."* 
It appears that the Bally Mills Company, near 
Calcutta, has for some time utilised the stem of the 
cultivated plantain for paper-making, and the results 
are said to be satisfactory. The company purchase 
the roughly dried stems from contractors who collect 
them from villages in the neighbourhood. The price 
paid by the mill is 3s. 6<1. to 4s. per cwt., according 
to quality. In this instance |the preparation of the 
fibre is very simple. The plantain stem is cut down 
after fruiting, and the outer sheathing portions are 
cut into strips and thoroughly dried in the sun. 
The leaves and central core being useless only about 
two pounds of rough fibre are obtained from each 
6tem. By this rough mode of preparation the fibre 
is not freed from the cellular tissue, and although it 
can be utilised on the spot it is doubtful whether it 
could be exported in this state. 
An attempt was made in the latter part of 1883 
to utilise the thousands of acres of wild plantains 
growing in the Chittagong Hill tracts which it was 
thought might yield large quantities of fibre at cheap 
rates. It was found, however, that any attempt at 
crushing the stems in a fresh state entailed heavier 
machinery than could be easily moved from place 
to place, and the idea was ultimately abandoned 
without any practical results being achieved. In 
spite of this, however, Dr. King is of opinion that 
plantain stems in India will eventually become 
available as paper material, and considering the 
immense number grown for shelter, shade, and food 
purposes, the subject is of considerable importance 
both to the people of India and to paper-makers 
* Spanish and Algerian espartos are quoted in Lon- 
don (Dec. 1880) at 70s. to 110s. per ton. The estimated 
value of plantain fibre must therefore be reduced to one 
half of tl.O above. [At which price it cannot.possibly 
pay to pnparc it, and the stems had better be left 
to rot oil the land.— Ed,] 
IX.— Pine-apple Fibre. 
(Ananas sativa.) 
A note may be added here on the fibre yielded 
by the leaves of the pine-apple plant. Although not 
at present in commercial use, this fibre has a future 
of considerable importance before it. It is finer and 
stronger than that yielded by any other plant and 
in the Philippines, where the West Indian Auanas 
has become thoroughly naturalized, a beautiful fabric 
known as " pina cloth " is made from it. A rope 
of pine-apple fibre 3J inches in circumference bore a 
Strain, at Calcutta, of 57 cwt. 
There are several samples of fibre of a wild pine- 
apple (Bromelia sylvestris, Willd.) from the West 
Indies aud Central America at Kew, but there is no 
record of their commercial value. A sample supposed 
to be from this plant was lately sent from Trinidad, 
upon which the brokers reported as follows :—" Not 
" yet in commercial use, but destined, we think, to 
"a successful future ; fine, soft, supple fibre, strong 
" and good colour, ample length ; say 30/. per ton 
" aud upwards." 
The fibre of the Jamaica piuquin (Biomdia Pinouin 
L.) would appear not to be of high value. The 
plant covers hundreds of acres in the plains and 
lowlands of Jamaica, aud an effort was made some 
time ago to prepare the fibre for commercial purposes. 
The report of brokers upon a sample of 90 pounds 
was as follows:— "A long towzelled weak fibre, of 
?< bad colour, coarse, no strength, and only fit for break- 
'' ing up. Similar to St. Helena hemp tow, but not 
" so good. We should think 12?. to 10?. per ton the 
" utmost value." Several samples of this pinguin fibre 
from Jamaica and elsewhere, cleaned both by hand 
and by machine, are to be seen in the Kew Museum. 
No. 2. 
If the leaves of this plant were cut up, roughly 
dried, and placed in compressed bales, they might 
prove of value for paper-making. To establish this 
point it would be necessary to forward to England 
about half a ton of dried leaves in compressed bales, 
in order that paper-makers might be able to test 
them on a sufficiently large scale. 
D. M. 
[We have frequently expressed the opinion, that, of 
all the fibre plants in Ceylon, pineapples grown native 
fashion in shade and producing very long leaves 
offer the best chances of success. — Ed.] 
AGRICULTUEE ON THE CONTINENT OF 
EUROPE. 
(Special Letter.) 
DAIRY STOCK EXPERIMENTS IN BELGIUM : DUTCH 
VERSUS DURHAM COWS — ANIMAL DIET — MANURE AND 
MANURING. 
Paris, May 14. 
In Belgium, the attention of the Agricultural com- 
munity is kept fixed by the Government on two 
points : improving the national race of horses, so 
as to compete directly with the Percherons ; and, 
secondly, in the case of dairy stock, selecting races 
best suited to the resources of each region and the 
ends in view whether the production of meat or of 
milk. 
Since twenty years the controversy exists respect- 
ing the comparative merits of the Durham and the 
Dutch cows for dairy purposes. The conclusions 
arrived at in 1869 by Drs. Lehmann and Petermann, 
at the experimental farm station of Pommritz, in 
Saxony, are as true and as applicable today as 
then. In dairy industries two interests are in play ( 
the production of butter and cheese, and the selling 
of the milk fresh. These necessarily involve the 
question of the composition of milk. The latter is 
now accurately known. 
The Pommritz experiment was made upon nine 
Dutch and nine Durham cows selected out of a herd 
of sixty head of cattle. The animals were respect- 
ively aged 6 to 8 years, and which had calves at 
different periods. The eighteen experimented upon 
cows were lodged in the same shed, and fed on 
identically the same conditions, The winter dietary 
