December i, 1891.] THE TROP1CA1- AtaTTimjl-TUniST, 
447 
FIBEE CULTIVATION. 
(This and the foUowing article are Extracts from the 
Animal Report on the Bahamas, hi Governor Sir 
Ambrose Shea, k.c.m.g.J 
Steady progress continues to be made in this in- 
dustry, with increasing faith in its value and per- 
manence. A report of the cultivation to the present 
time has been prepared by order of the Government, 
which, though strictly accurate, would not convey 
true impressions to those at a distance. 
The report speaks of 4,100 acres being already 
planted with 2,500,000 of plants, but it states that 
there are also 1,300,000 plants in iiurseries, which, 
being in course of growth, adds 50 per cent, to the 
active cultivation, making an aggregate of over 
0,000 acres. Plants are now kept much longer in 
nurseries to lessen the cost of weeding, which is an 
expensive operation, and annually attended to after 
the plants are set out in the fields. 
There has been some question as to the time to 
bring the plantings to maturity, but four years is now 
the accepted period, while plants retained in the 
niu-series, as above stated, v/ill mature in three years. 
There is but little to add to former reports on this 
enterprise, which has passed out of the experimental 
stage and will not probably present any new features 
of interest until exports of fibre begin, which will b^, 
on a moderate scale, in 1892, then developing annually 
into proportions of increasing importance. 
The value of fibre, like that of other products, will, 
of course, be subject to market condition from time 
to time, but, in the natural order of things, it will 
ever be the main export and, regarding all the surround- 
ing circumstances, it is difficult to see how it can 
fail to pay present investors handsomely and to be, 
to them, a source of income less liable to fluctuations 
than is the case with most commercial adventures. 
The time is now approaching when the machines for 
separating the fibre from the leaf will acquire prac- 
tical importance ; of those now in use none seem to 
meet all the requirements. Some of them clean the 
fibre well ; but the process is wasteful, and the correc- 
tion of this defect is the object to be 
accomplished. With so great an interest at stake we 
must suppose inventive genius will be found equal to 
the occasion. Professors Edison has directed his 
attention to the matter of decortication and he hopes 
he has found an effective method which avoids waste. 
The treatment is by solution of crude petroleum, and 
this Government is now in comnmnication with the 
jprofesaor. If the results meet our requirements, a 
most important end will be attained, which will have 
the ful-ther advantage of enabling small cultivatoi-s 
to dress their own leaves instead of being compelled 
to sell them at a loss to a large neighbouring 
•planter, who is able to procure a machine. 
The process being enterprised by Professors Edison 
«mbraces other and most valuable interests in this 
Colony. Many thousands of tons of pine-apple leaves 
ai-e noM' annually left to waste. The fibre commands 
a high price, from f 60 to £80 a ton, for use in fine 
textiles. The small quantity now produced comes 
from China, where it is roughly and expensively 
prepared for want of a machine sufficiently delicate 
to extract the tender fibre without injury. The pro- 
posed mode would seem to meet this difficulty, as 
all strain or friction is avoided, and ,the result of 
pending inquiries is looked for with great interest. 
The immediate effect of successful experiment would 
fee to turn a waste product into an article of much 
Vftlno, adding substantially to the returns of pine-apple 
tailtivation and this process may be applied to the 
growing crop. It is understood that the same solution 
may be used many times, and, it present hopes are 
roaiiHod, the petroleum will be admitted free of the 
duty now imposed. — Trinidad- ArjriuaUural- Record, 
AQRICULTUIIK. 
Ai)arl from the fibre cultivation agriculture is 
conlinod chiefly to pino-applcs. The people raise 
uuiizo and swoel potatoes forthoirown use, and their 
maintenance is much assisted by these crops. Cotton 
shows an increase, being £1,593 in value compared 
with £1,074 in 1889. There is no reason why this 
business should not be extensively prosecu.ted, as most 
of the islands are well adapted for its cultivation. It 
is hoped that the presence of strangers now coming 
in to pursue the fibre industry will act on cotton pro- 
duction, to the advantages of which their attention 
cannot fail to be directed. It is quite possible that, 
in time, cotton may be found only second to the 
fibre in the category of exports from the Colony. The 
pine-apple crop realised £49,795, as compared with 
£25,558 in 1889. Of canned pine-apples there were 
exported 26,799 cases, valued at £6,126, and in 1889 
the .export was 21,683 cases, with a value of 
£4,500. In oranges there was an export ef £3,961, 
the output of 1889 having been £3,040. Careless 
culture and a reckless mode of shipping, very often 
in bulk in vessels' holds, must militate against the 
success of the orange growers. There are advantages 
for the cultivation of oranges in these islands not 
known in Florida, as we are proof against frost, which 
often visits that country. This branch of employment 
may also be favourably affected when men of enter- 
prise from outside, appreciating the opportunity, use 
it with energy and the application of well-ordered 
methods of packing and shipping. — Trinidad 
Agricultural Record. 
GRYLON EXPORTS AND DISTRIBUTION, 1891. 
P'bagq J 
1891 
cwt. 
cvi th Til -* to o 
r-i ^ -:1H 00 00 Oi 
o:o :aiOi ; : : ;;cnio>o • : • 
CO . to • Gi 
CO 00 
rH n< 
CRJ>* O 
cjs 
CO OS Oi 
It- O CO I-* 
lO OO iH CO 
eg CO «^ 
CocODut Oil. 
1890 
cwt. ^ 
85500 
16477 
1161 
5007 
18777 
10 
3423 
8062 
76082 
1213 
100773 
8 
11265 
377938 
303045 
278078 
329287 
_ . 
123143 
14371 
3108 
3002 
17973 
5612 
5512 
101837 
2341 
98993 
33 
1455 ) 
58 j 
CinnamoD. | 
o, 
o 
227546 
21290 
5600 
25380 
119224! 
75600^ 
11148, 
OO ift o o 
OOl-l -M K 
to 00 n 
CO 00 r-i 
Th -Ji -^1 
Bales 
lb. 
1045459; 
6300 
61000 
118600 
391865 
106300 
50 
66000 
24272 
6200 
71600 
100368 
1998014 
1714984 
1529500 
a 
o 
a 
b 
CO OD --I Oi t^. C^l CS O lO 
OOQO O OOt-CO-tfOSOl 
^^..c^ « ... 
00 O t-l CD 
CO lO — . 
CM « Oi OO 
d' — « «D 
CO ir-i d 
Oocoa.i 
cwt. 
Cn 00 
r-t 
<^ (30 
: : : : : 
17434 
12856 
12625 
10476 
Tea. V 
1891 
lb.' ■ 
56420628 
70830 
85 
18158 
89661 
2280 
3629 
11230 
16995 
300 
4211 
388281 
157147 
67710 
161251 
3174 
56100 
200D 
o to OJ CO 
CO .-i OO O 
(Ji t-- 
t— to (M 
CO lO OO y: 
O Oi o 
'X> Tf< CM OI 
Cinchona, j 
1891 B'nch 
&Trunklb. 
4284740 
189735 
3362 
"21438 
4906689 
8184629 
8539296 
12091823 
Coffee, Cwt. 1 
Total, 
00(51 rHX>rH lo o-fioinoocOOT 
00 t>- OQ •* * , : ; i-H b- c<i « r- th cvi : 
r- -* : : : . 'ji OS : 
O 
00 'C TP o 
00 £ ^tii 
1- M 
N'tive 
t- CD O O c** OS «0 
rji to O O ^ rij t- 
to:;::: "-Hooo::;: : 
: ' .....cmt-(..*. . 
4419 
2818 
4319 
5267! 
Plan-: 
tation , 
r-i-^jiQOOiCO OOOOOit-^-^miQ 
oot-t-iOi-< iO CO m <z> o CO ta 
oocD car-<; ::::aica«fHi-i 
iO 
CD OO CO 
■X' eft o CO 
t- OS O CO 
CO CQ tT 
f i-1 
X 
M 
M 
H 
O 
Cj 
To United Kingdom 
„ Austria 
Belgium 
„ France 
„ Germany 
„ Holland 
J, Italy 
Prussia 
Spain ... ,.J 
„ Sweden 
„ Turkey 
„ India 
„ Australia 
Africa ... 
China 
„ Singapore ... 
Mauritius 
„ Malta 
Total Exports from Ist Jan. 
to 'mh Nov. 1891 
Do 1890 
Do 1889 
Do 1888 
