June ], 1900.] 
THi: TKOPIOAL AGBICULTUllIST. 
855- 
The leaf of the heneqaeu was drawn through the 
sharp onrve and the fiber was stripped of the thick, 
pulpy covering. The leaf was subjected to this oper- 
ation two or three times, until the fiber was left clean 
and free. This tedious process was not long toler- 
ated. A machine was found to increase the output, 
but the demand again outgrew the means of supply. 
Then the machine known as the " raspador," or the 
"solis," from its inventor, came into use and has 
held its own almost up to the present day. It con- 
sists of a large-toothed wheel that scrapes the pulp 
and leaves the fiber. Its simplicity made it peculi- 
arly fitted for use by the native servants. Planta- 
tions came to be known as plantations of one, two, or 
a dozen wheels. , ■, ^mi 
The constantly increasing trade necessitated still 
more rapid means of fiber cleaniug Many new 
machines were produced, each of which was said by 
its inventor to be far better than any of the others. 
To-day, the following machines are in actual use in 
Yucatan : 4, ? , 
Hemg cUaniwi machines now^ m use upon the planta- 
tions of Yucatan. 
S .3 M I = p 
2 ^ras Soo'^ Cost of Machine a 
.5 o to o S ..ra 
J ^.SS Mexican* United 
S S ° ^3 States 
Lananx 130,000 35 3 $6,f^00 00 $2,856 00 6 
Prieto .. 125,000 60 3 7,000 00 3,332 00 90 
Stephens 150,000 70 3 11,000 00 5,236 00 6 
Solis . . 9 000 6 2 2.50 00 119 00 1,200 
Torroella 80,000 30 3 5,000 TO 2,380 00 20 
Villamor 70,000 35 3 6,000 00 2,856 00 
Note. — Compiled from data given me by the in- 
ventors themselves or their authorized agents. 
I give below a table ' showing the exportation of 
sisal grass from Yucatan during the ten years 
ended December 31st, 1898: 
Year Quantity 
Bales Kilograms Pounds 
1889 243,968 40,641,621 89,598,297 
1890 .. .. 260,106 4-5,079,423 99,382,096 
1891 310,090 52,065,024 114,782,5.02 
1892 353,525 58,584,813 129,156,078 
1898 .. .. 355,123 58,097,925 128,082,685 
1894 ... 373,883 61,6.^5,695 135,815,915 
1895 381,504 61,729,.i84 136,(_)89,041 
1896 397,163 65,762,910 144,980,911 
1897 419,975 70,545,153 155,523,844 
1898 418,972 6^,834,263 151,753,027 
Total for 10 years 3,514,309 582,946,316 1,285,163,448 
The Mexican Government requires all weights to 
be stated in the metric system. 
In 1888 and 1889, the price of hemp reached 15 
centavos per pound. The cost of production was 
then about 4 centavos per pound. 
Exports of sisal qrass from Yucatan during ten 
months of 1899. 
Month Quantity 
Hales Kiloqrams Pounds 
January 52,123 8.735,545 19,258,383 
Fabruai v 21,360 8,506 83'> 7,731,162 
March 68,069 9,621,7oo 21,212,006 
April 43,530 7,075,447 15,598,530 
May 3i1>869 5 015,166 11,()56,4.'?5 
June .. ... .. 31,629 1,133,882 11,318 156 
Julv 26,937 4,i!96,939 9,473,032 
Au^^ust .. .. 26,204 4,202,208 9,264,188 
September 44,973 7,456,101 16,427,725 
October .. .. 35,595 5,695,200 12,555,638 
Total for 10 mo^ 371,294 63,739,323 140,619,711 
* The United States Director of the Mint esti- 
toatea the average value of the Mexicf^u ^pUaf in 
899 as iT^ oeots, 
Prices during these mouths have rauged from 13 
to 18 centavos (7.1 to 8.7 cents). 
It is said that the best fiber-producing plant grows 
ou the poorest and rockiest soil ; but tliis does not 
ac3ord with experiments made by me, and to my 
mind is open to contradiction. 
One method of planting and cnltivaling is aa fol- 
lows : The field is first cut and burned ofi. The 
burning produces a certain amount of ashes, and 
many planters set out seed corn at the same time 
they plant the henequen. The one does not inter- 
fere with the other in the least, and the corn crop 
helps to pay the cost of the henequen. 
The henequen plant is propagated, not by seeds, 
but by scions, or suckers. The plant produces seeds, 
and in a natural state propagates itself by both 
seeds and scions; but the planter uses only suckers 
from 18 to 20 inches high. By this method, he can 
produce a field of henequen ready to cut within five 
years, whereas by seed-planting he would have to 
wait from eight to nine years. - - 
Once planted and properly tended — that is, cleairBj; 
of weeds twice a year and not under or over otlt— -" 
a field will last twenty years, and instances 
are not wanting of fields that have lasted 
longer. 
A leaf is ready to cut when it extends at right 
angles to the trunk of the plant. A healthy, vigorous 
plant in the maturity of its growth should yield from 
eighteen to twenty-four leaves. One thousand leaves 
should produce from .50 to 60 pounds of good, clean 
fiber. This amount is a fair average. 
When the plants in an old field send up a flower 
stalk, it is nature's signal that the crop is finished. 
The old plants must then be clipped of all useful 
leaves and cut down, to allow the young scions 
(which should have been already planted between 
the old plants) ventilation for growth. 
Bad cleaning, allowing rot to bo produced by the 
acids nascent in the plant pulp, and dampness pro- 
duce red and moldstained fiber, of less than one- 
half the value of the good, clean, white, fiber. 
This is rarely exported, but is sold at home for 
domestic use. 
In March of last year, the prelimin.iry trials of 
the machinery in the new cordage factory La In- 
dustrial gave satijfactory results. This factory was 
the first of its class established in Mexico, and its 
progress has been closely watched. 
It is, in the opinion of experts, as completely 
equipped as any similar enterprise in the United 
States, and its total cost has reached nearly $700,000. 
The machinery is nearly all from the United States, 
and is of the best and latet pattern. The factory 
is now working double time in order to fill several 
very large contracts for binder twine from United 
States houses. 
There are in Yucatan nearly twelve hundred bene- 
quen-produciug plantations of various sizes. The 
largest plantation, or perhaps I should say the plan- 
tation producing the largest output, is, I think, oa 
the line of the broad-guage railway between Merida 
and Progreso. It is called Ticilche, and produces at 
the time of this report about 1,000 bales, or 375,000 
pounds of cleaned fiber per month. 
Prophecies are dangerous, and I venture to make 
one with diffidence; but I have recently been over 
the henequen-producing belt and have perhaps a* 
much data as most persons. My belief is that if the 
maximum production of henequen in Y^ucatan for tha 
next three years has not already been reached, it 
will not exceed this year's output by over 10 per 
cent. Many factors unknown in the United States 
are of importance here, and parties interested will 
do well to bear this in mind. I have no henequen 
interests, and my judgment may be the clearer for 
that fact. Edward H, XacMrsoN, 
Progreso, October 29, 1899^ Consnlf 
