September i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
30S 
PITA OR AGAVE, COMMONLY CALLED ALOE. 
Hi 
Jantala : Tamil, Petha-kala burtJia. 
This species of agave, commonly called aloe plants, 
are natives of America, which have become so natur- 
alized in many parts as to appear to l>.c indigenous in 
Afric;i, India, and the coasts of the Mediterranean. 
So much is the latter the case, that some authors 
take this American plant to be the aloe wood men- 
tioaed in Scripture. But there is not the slightest 
foundation for this opinion, nor indeed for the true 
aloe plants of which the agaves so frequently assume 
the name. The aloes wood of Scripture is the ahila 
wood of the east, so famed for its fragrance, yielded 
by Aquilaria agalhchum. 
The agave plants, to which the name of American 
aloes is so frequently applied, resemble the true aloes 
in their sword-shaped leaves with parallel veins, 
which, however, grow to a gigantic size, that is, 
from eight to ten feet in length, in a cluster from 
the root, with their margins usu illy armed with short 
thorn?, and their points with a hard and sharp thorn. 
This makes these plants so useful in the construction 
of hedges, a use to which they are generally applied. 
These plants come to perfection in about three years, 
they do not tlower for eight, and in some situations 
perhaps not for twenty years, when they throw up 
a tall candelabra-like flower stalk. This has no doubt 
given origin to the fable of their flowering only once 
in a hundred years. It is the leaves of these plants 
which abound in fibres of great length and of con- 
siderable strength. Being also tough and durablo, 
they lire separated for the purpose of making string 
and rope, not only in their native countries but also 
in those into which they have been introduced. The 
roots as well as leaves contain ligneous fibre, "pita 
thread," useful for various purposes. These are separ- 
ated by bruising and steeping in wa'er, and after- 
wards beating, practices which the natives of India 
have adopted either from instructions or original ob- 
serration. 
The Mexicans also made their paper of the fibres 
of agave leaves laid in layers. 
The expressed juice of the leaves evaporated is 
stated by Long, in his "History of Jamaica," to be 
useful as a substitute for soap. The fibres of the 
agave leaves is in Mexico converted into twine, cord, 
and rope, the last used in mines and the rigging of 
ships. 
" Humboldt describes a bridge over the river 
Chambo. in Quitn, 131 feet in span, of which the 
main ropep, four inches in diameter, were made of 
the fibres of the agave, and upon these ropes the 
roadway was placed." 
In the West Indies the negroes make ropes, fishing 
nets, and hammocks, of agave fibre- 
The fibre is thus prepared: the longest and most 
useful leaves being cut off are laid upon a, board 
aud scraped with a square iron bar, which is held 
in both hands, until all the juice and pulp are pressed 
out, the fibres only remaining. In Portugal, Spaiu, 
and Sicily, the fibre is applied to various purposes. 
Pi' a fibre is extensively ueed iu South America for 
even large-siz-d rope. 
The name pita seems to be also applied to similar 
fibres obtained from species of bromelio, yucca, as 
well as agave. The weight of pita fibre being one- 
sixth less than that of hemp, the difference would 
be very considerable for the entire rigging of a ship 
and produce a sensible reduction in the top weigh', 
nnd thus increase the stability of the hull 
The agave grows well on the north coast of Africa, 
and its fibre has been paid much attention to by the 
French since bbeir occupation of Algeria. 
W hen to dor is scarce, cattle will eat the younger 
have- when cut into transversa slices. 
A cloak and paper made of this fibre were sent 
to the Exhibition of 1861, and rope3 have been made 
of the fibres, showing considerable strength. 
The agave or pita fibre being so extensively em- 
ployed in different parts of the world, there is no 
doubt that it will become a valuable culture in India. 
It was probably introduced into India by the Portu- 
guese. The species A. vivipara seems to be the same 
as the A. americana of Roxburgh, and A. ranlala 
had also become naturalized. 
In our cooly districts of Southern India it is very 
abundant, and the method they use in preparing the 
fibre is very simple. The leaves are pressed between 
two horns and the pulp washed away. The agave 
will grow in dry climates and poor soil, and is most 
suitable to plant in waste and abandoned coffee land. 
A report published by the Agricultural So'-iety of 
India some years ago on the aloe fibre manufactured 
at one of the jails shews the following resul's : — 
Aloe fibre rope 1 fathom long and 3 in. 
in circumference broke in a weight 
of lb. Troy 2,5l9i 
Coir do. do. do. do. ... ,, 2,175 
Country hemp do. do. do. ... ,, 2,269 
Jute do. do. do. do. ... ,, 2,456 
In a trial made at Paris between ropes made of 
hemp and of the aloe from Algies, the following 
results were obtained, both being immersed in the 
sea for six months and exposed to the atmosphere 
for the same time: — 
Pita. g Hemp. sjo g i £ 
lb. lb. 
Plunged in sea... 3,S10 Plunged in sea... 2,53S 1,272 
Exposed to air... 3,724 Exposed to air .. 3,022 702 
These experiments prove that the pita fibre is pos- 
sessed of very useful properties. " Another product, " 
I trust soon to see it quoted in our commercial list. 
J. A. 
TEA AND SILK FARMING IN NEW ZEALAND. 
TO THE EDITOR OF "THE COLONIES AJiD INDIA." 
Sir, — Your ' interesting paper haviug be3n brought 
under my notice a few days ago as a ya'uable medium 
for the discussion of Colonial affairs, I hasten to 
acquaint you with a suggestion teferring to New Zea- 
land, which is at present being critically examined 
here, in England, in India, and at the Antipodes. 
The proposal is to commence tea and silk farming as 
a combined industry in Auckland, and I am encouraged 
to submit the scheme to your readers partly on ac- 
count of the favourable reception it has already met 
with, and in the hope of eliciting every shade of 
Opinion, so that the undertaking, if generally approved, 
may be speedily brought to a practical issue. 
I shall not occupy your space with the reasons 
which have led to the s-lcction of New Zealand as 
the scene of the experiment— these having already 
appeared in the page3 of the Glangow Herald, X, , 
Zealand Public Opinion, aud Chambers' Journal — but 
shall simply epitomise the chief points of the projected 
A comparison of the aptitude of different Colonies 
for tea and silk culture with the advantages known 
to exist in the countries to which these important 
products are indigenous has resulted iu the belief 
that tho province of Auckland oil rs most, if not all, 
of the required facilities. Accordingly, the formation 
of a public company, to commence and prosecute thi 
combined industries", has been for some little time 
aud is now being advocated. The special objects to 
bo accomplished arc ; — 
