Aug. 1, 1903.] THE TliOPICAL 
AGItlCULTURIST. 
89 
component parts ; and the componeut parts shoulcl be 
split into strips ij to 2 inches in width. The strips u.rd 
mow ready for being cleaned ; and it is advisable that 
they should be cleaned the same day aa the stems are 
oat down. It will be found that the inner, white and 
tender, strips are very much easier to clean than the 
outer green-colonred strips. The inner strips yield a 
tine soft, yet strong fibre ; while the green-ooloured 
strips yield a rather coarse fibre. It is, therefore, 
advisable to reject the two or three outermost com- 
ponent parts (leaf stalks) of the plantain stem, t'^? 
they are, as a rule, difficult to clean. 
The operator should now take a strip, iu hi- 
hands, and place hia foot on the pedal (i) to open th i 
knife. Then place the strip, inner side uppermost o;i 
the iron sole-plate under the open knife, keeping 
hold of about six or seven inches of the end of tha 
strip, and then allow the kuife-blade to close care- 
fully on the strip by taking the foot off th pedal 
No\^, with both hands the operator should aw tl; ; 
strip, with a good steady pall, through bet len tii« 
blade of the knife and the iron sole-plate. 1 he str lu 
should be passed under the knife two or three timesj 
inner side uppermost, and then a few times outei' 
side upppermost ; and, if the pressure on the knife 
has been correctly adjusted, the strip should be 
cleaned in about half-a-dozen, or fewer strokee. 
Having cleaned one end of the strip, which will now 
appear as clean fibre, the other end which wa* 
held in the hand should be cleaned. Place it under 
the knife, inner side uppermost, leaving about half 
an inch to be cleaned by the second and subse- 
quent strokes, and draw it through quickly. Afier 
three or four strokes the fibre will appear quite clean. 
Now hold the piece of fibre in the centre and give it 
tliree or four sharp shakes ; then h-ing it up on a 
string or bamboo, fixed horizontally at a height of, 
say, oi feet from the ground, in a shady place con- 
veniently close to the machine to dry. If the day be 
fine and bright, the fibre will dry in a few minuiea 
but it should be allowed to hang for several hours So 
dry it thoroughly. As soon as it is dry it can be made 
into cords or ropes or stored away for future use. 
It must not be expected that an ordinary coaly 
can become really expert at tha work of cleanint' 
plantain fibre with one of these primitive maohinea 
without a considerable amount of practice. With a 
view, therefore, to getting a man to become exparS 
at the work he should be kept steadily at it QAy 
after day for a month or more on daily wages. As boo a 
as the employer is satisfied that this man can tui'a 
out what he considers to be a satisfactory quantity 
of fibre per day, he might suggest cou tract work to 
his man at so much per pound of fibre. Theoas- 
ployer can easily calculate and settle for himself wbdc 
rate he can afford to offer to his cooly or coolies 
for the fibre after asceitaining its current market 
value. 
Planters, zemindars and especially the ryots and 
villagers who have plantains growing on their estates 
and in their gardens might, with the aid of these 
primitive machines, very easily and without mn-h 
expense obtain all the fibre necessary to make coi is 
and ropes for their own requirements. Shoald either 
or both of these patterns of primitive machines er ic 
be adopted by the ryots and villagers, it is probable 
that considerable improvements will be effected .i 
them in course of time by engineers or by othe.c 
of an inventive turn of mina. 
The fibre can also be extracted by scraping the 
plantain strips with a bamboo sorapsr ou a haid 
smooth board 5'x6"x2", precisely in the same way * 
agave fibre ia occasionally extracted from the fre^th 
leaves of the plant by the villagers in the Coimbatoi j 
district.* 
♦ Tide Bulletin No. 30 " Extraction of Agave Amtn- 
caim fibre at Coimbatore," 
Thc-re can be no question as to the vast numbers of 
pki iii'i stems that are available in thi.^ country, 
liuo, ;■ -V ould be a good thing if even a tithe of the 
euC'. Dus quantity of fibre which could be obtained 
froiu c :'?.m could be turned to account. The following 
suggiscions are accordingly put forward as being 
likfilj, if adopted, to encourage the establishing of 
an iiidu.-^try in the extraction and utilization of 
piaiics-'n fibra : — 
(1) That the professional fibre-cleaners and ryots be 
vi^i :■ r-j 'heir villages and that practical demons- 
• .^iven to them, as well as to the pupils of 
- jhools, by trained men iu extracting plan- 
cdu , 1, , rj by means of No. 1 machine. 
(2) That machines be supplied at practically cost 
price to those who may wish to buy them. 
(o) That competitions be subsequently organised in 
dist'icns or oentrea where plantains are largely -grown, 
j-t vr:\ieh priziis should be offered to the most expert 
hi'n^s in extracting plantain fibre by means of No, 1 
aad also for tha ,best samples of cordage made of the 
fibre. 
(A) That msrchants likely to purchase the fibre 
werr^ ci-btainable in quantity be encouraged to attend 
suet jompe'dtiooj) so that producers and purchasers 
may be brought together iu order that a demand for 
the t'lbcd m».y, if possible, be created. 
If '-- ly real encouragement is to be given for the 
pur::-f'-e of infciofiuciag the industry among the Indian 
villsij; ra, no ha'.i-hearted measures will be productive 
of Lfi'i.'jh good. It is, therefore, advisable that what- 
evei It if decided to do in furtherance of the scheme 
ehcald ba carefully planned, properly directed, and 
perse , eringly carried out in a through manner till such 
tiaie iis definite and reliable results are ascertained. 
As ftfts already bsen stated, the fibre obtained from 
tbo r-ojiuno!! plantain is not so strong aa that which is 
ob . ' ; 1 from * Musa textilis, the "Manilla Hemp" 
of . J ..oise, and it will not therefore fetch anything 
liki ;ue piles of the latter. It can, therefore, never 
compete is vourably with " Manilla Hemp " in the 
Eu--';'K:itu ni.tck.-'ts. But once the natives of India 
ta' •' r;s:r!ict;ing and utilizing the fibre of the common 
p; ■ :> i-. is slmost a foregone conclusion that an 
in : . , !/y ii: 'rie much more valuable fibre of t Musa- 
texi'Mi wonif- follow in course of time. 
- ,3-on, the industry in extracting fibre for 
00: ■' '-'^1 plantain stems after they have each 
b bincb of fruit is more certain to be of local 
, ■ '■.-•d of bsnafit to the Indian cultivators than it 
likely to attain any importance as an article of 
ROBERT L. J'KOUDLOCK 
Government Botanic Gardens and Parh.-i, The 
JN'r;.. •, :.;.~»\.^of:acaruand, 9th July 1902. 
T.iie M.anilla hemp was successfully cultivated at 
the Sa'.aapet Farm iu 1882—84 and fibre extracted 
thc;'-)f ;/.ui by serapiug the sheaths with a blunt knife 
b> r .v^. The stems yielded 1 to 2i per cent, of their 
Tv-^ of iabre. A rope of Manilla hemp J inch thick 
stiv i-'sd a weight of about 500 lb. The cost of e.^tra- 
ct'.at; tibre by haiiA was of course excessive. — C.K.S. 
A. nritive geatlt^mau of Valavanur, South Arcot, 
n-- '. Yeakataramier, states that a specimen of 
0 til plantain fibre has been valued iu London at 
. , -^i.i^o £35 per ton. He estimates the production 
of t-.'-i -'i/ Tibid at 1% lb. per stem or nearly one ton per 
ai rt ■ i f,h,; cost of extracting the tibre by manuil 
' - 55 and the charges for baling, transport, 
at R 45. Large profits are possibie, if 
■ji ■ are correct. Certain experiments made 
pccFfirmin 1882-8o in extracting fibre 
1 liiiavy plantains showed thit the average 
;i!iDttsin stem was hardly 40 lb. and gave 
3 per cent, of fibre, The matter is well 
