May 2, 1904.] 
THE TROPICAL AGPJCULTUIUST. 
727 
The falling of the leaves of Castillba elastica in the 
dry se.iBon renders it unsuitable as a shade tree for 
cofEee oc cocoa. In coutinnoualy humid localities 
where the leaves are retained sh ide trees are super- 
flunns and the yield of rubber declines. 
The desirable features of shade culture, the shading 
of the soil, and the encouragemeut o£ tall upright 
trunks, are to be secured by planting the rubber tree<i 
closer together rather than by the use of special shade 
trees. Planting closer than 10 feet, however, ia of very 
doubtful expediency. 
The percentage of rubber increases during the dry 
season and diminishes during the wet. The fiiw of 
milk is lessened in dry situations by inadequate water 
supply, bat at the beginning of the rains such trees 
yield milk much more freely than those of continu- 
ously humid localities. The claim that more rubber 
is produced in the forest or by shaded trees seems to 
rest on tapping experimants made in the dry season. 
Continuous humidity being unnec-sary, the culture 
of Castilloa may be undertaken in more salubrious 
regions th'in those to which rubber production has been 
thought to be confined ; the experimental planting of 
Castilloa in Porto Rico and the Philippines becomes 
advisable, but extensive planting in untried conditions 
is hazardous. 
No satisfactory implement for the tapping of C istil- 
loa trees has come into u^e. Boring and suction 
devices are excluded by the fact thxt the milk is con- 
tained in fine vertic-J tubes in the bark, which must be 
cut to permit the milk to escape. 
In British India it has been ascertained that the 
Para rubber tree may be repeatedly tapped on several 
successive or alternate days by renewing the wounds 
at the edges. The yield of milk increases for several 
tappings and the total is unexpectedly large. It ia 
not yet known whether multiple t ipping is pr.icti- 
cable with Castilloa, or whether this new plan may 
not give the Para rubber tree a distinct cultural 
advantage over Castilloa. 
The gathering of rubber from trees less than eight 
years old is not likely to be advantageous ; the expense 
ofcolleoting will be relatively large, and the quality of 
such rubber is interior, owing to the Urge percentage 
of resin. 
The rubber of Castilloa is scarcely inferior to that of 
Hevea, The supposed inferiority is due to substances 
which can be removed from the milk by heat and by 
Dilution with water, 
SISAL OR MAGUEY FIBRE 
{Agave Bicjida Sisalana.) 
AN INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED BY THE AMEHICAN BaREAU 
OF AGKICULTURE, 
The Americ.\n Bureau of Agriculture is convinced 
that the culiivation and production of Sisal fibre or 
Maguey can be made one of the most important agri- 
cultural industries of the Islands. Land which ia 
unsuiled to almost any other crop can be cropped 
with Agave sisalana. Other tropical and sub-tropical 
conntriea besides the Philippines will produce the 
agave well, and the fibre is said to be in good de- 
mand in the New York markets and fetches very 
fair prices. 
Mr. H. T Edwards, a Fibre expert, has written an 
article on Maguey or Sisal. This hus been forwaided to 
na by Piot. F. Kamson Scribner, chief of the Bureau of 
Agriculture, and we give some extracts below. 
Maguey and sisal are the common names of two 
closely allied species of the genus Agave. There has 
been some conluaion in the use of the name maguey, 
it being sometimes applied to all of the species of 
agave. Stricily speaking, however, the maguey of 
Mexico and Central America is the plant of Agave 
americana which produces the fibre known as "pita," 
while sisal ia \.he nbre produced by the plant heneqnin. 
Agave ngida sisala:ta. In the Philippine Islanda 
both the plant and the fibre are generally known 
as maeuey, and have been clarsified as belonging to 
Aqare Americana. It is probable, however, that the 
greater part of the so-called maguey fibre of the 
Philippines is produced by the Ep3cies Agava rif/ida 
sisilaHia,ni should, therefore, more properly be te mad 
si.-<aL" The fibre known as ixtile, or Tampico fibre, 
is produced hy Agave heteracantha. 
The agaves are natives of ('entral Ameiica, but are 
now widely distributed throughout the world. They 
are found in Mexico, Central America, the West 
Indies, southern Europe, India, and other countries. 
The plants are often u^ed for ornamental purposes, 
the jnioe has medicine.1 properties and when distilled 
has a wide use as an intoxicating beverage known 
as pulque or mescal, the pith furnishes a good substi- 
tute for soap, and the fibres have a great variety of 
use viz., for cordage, fishing lines, Dels, hammocka, 
saddle blankets, brushes, Lices, and both fine and 
coarse fabrics. 
THE MAGUEY PLANT AND FIBBF, 
The maguey, or " century plant '' is largely used 
in the United States for ornamental purpose'. In 
many parts of the Philippine Islands it may be seen 
growing by the roadside, in gardens, and in neglected 
fence corners. 
The plant consists of a short heavy stem which 
bears an aloe-like cluster, or rosette, of from 20 to 40 
thick, flashy leaves. These leaves are from 3 to 7 feet 
long and from 2 to 4 inches wide. They are light 
green in color, are covered with a whitish powdery 
substance, bear shsvrp lateral teeth and a terminal spine. 
The leaf is composed of pulpy material interspersed 
with vascular bundles which furnish the fibre. When 
the plant matures, which is in from seven to fifteen 
years, a central stalk, or '' pole," grows to a height 
of from 15 to 20 feet. This stalk first bears flowers 
and afterwards a large number of small bu bs which, 
when mature, fall to the ground. After flowering 
once the plant dies. 
The fibre of the miguey, belonging to the class 
known as structural fibres, is produced by the leaves. 
It ia obtained by separating the pulpy portion of the 
leaf from the fine filaments, or fibro-vascular bundles, 
which run through this pulp. The fibre, if carefully 
separated and dried, is quite white and brilliant. It 
is 4 to 5 feet long, is fine and soft, and is more wavy 
or fluffy than Manila hemp. Another marked quality 
is its elasticity, which gives it great value when used 
for cordage that is liable to ha subjected to any 
sudden strain. " Its main faults are the stiSness, 
shortness, and thinness of wall of the individual fibres 
and a liability to rot." 
STRENGTH OF THE FIBRE. 
Its strength, aa compared with certain other fibres, 
is shown by the following data. "In a trial of 
strength near Calcutta, the tests were made with ropes 
one fathom long and three inches in circumference, with 
the following results: The agave or pita broke in a 
strain of 2,519^ pounds; coir, 2,175 pounds; jute, 
2,45(3.^ pounds ; and sunn hemp, 2,269J pounds. In 
an experiment with Russian hemp and p'tti, the firs'.- 
named broke with 160 pounds weight, and the latter 
with 270 pounds." These tests are sufficient to show 
that, in the important q iality of strength, maguey 
compares favourably with other well- known com- 
msrcial fibers. 
CUM.tTE REQUIRFD. 
Almo^st any tropical or subtropical climate appears 
to be favourable for the growth of maguey. Owing 
to its thick, fleshy leaves it will not suffer during a 
prolonged drought, while it also flourishes in the 
humid climate and during the rainy season of the 
Philippines. It is stated that in a humid climate 
a longer and more elastic fibre is obtained. The only 
injury which the plant suft'ers in the Philippine Island.^, 
from climatic conditions, is from the heavy winds 
which sometimes tear and lacerate the leaves. 
