Jan.  I,  i8g6.| 
TfTE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
437 
aud  Ceutral  America  at  Kovv,  but  there  is  no  record 
of  their  commercial  value.  A sample  supposed  to 
be  from  this  plant  vi'as  lately  sent  from  Trinidad, 
upon  which  the  brokers  reported  as  follow;:  — ‘ Not 
yet  in  commercial  use,  but  destined,  we  think,  to  a 
successful  future  ;•  fine,  soft,  supple  fibre,  strong  and 
good  colour,  ample  length ; say  ^£80  per  ton  and 
upwards.’ 
“ The  fibre  of  the  .Jamaica  Pinguiu  f Bromelin  Piii- 
i/iiiiilj.)  would  appear  not  to  bo  of  high  value.  The 
plant  covers  hundreds  of  acres  in  the  plains  aud  low- 
lands of  .Jamaica,  and  an  effort  was  mad  ) some  time 
ago  to  prepare  the  fibre,  for  commercial  purposes. 
The  report  of  brokers  upon  a sample  of  90  lb.  was 
as  ffillows : — ‘A  long,  towzelled,  weak  fibre,  of  bad 
colour,  coarse,  no  strength,  and  only  fit  for  bfo.aking 
up.  Similar  to  St.  Tft'lnna  hemp  tow,  but  not  so 
good.  Wo  should  think  fl'2  to  £10  per  ton  to  the 
utmost  value  ’ Several  samples  of  this  Pinguin  fibre 
from  Jamaica  and  elsewhere,  cleaned  both  by  hand 
and  by  machine,  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Kew  Museum, 
No.  II.” 
Another  bromeliad  fKaratas  PfitHu'e/'U  with  leaves 
8 to  10  feet  long,  armed  with  distant,  incurved  teeth, 
is  common  in  Tropical  America.  It  is  a well-known 
and  valuable  fibre  plant.  It  is  said  to  be  used  by 
Indians  in  making  the  finest  hammocks  in  Central 
America,  Griiiana,  and  Brazil. 
Bowsteino  Hemps. 
The  species  of  Hannevieria  yielding  Bowstring 
hemps  have  creeping  rhizomes  and  a rosette  of 
leaves  of  a fleshy  character,  sometimes  flat,  concave, 
rouud,  or  spear-shaped.  The  flowers  are  in  spikes 
or  clusters,  white  or  green.  Tlie  leaves  are  dark 
green,  more  or  less  succulent,  and  banded  or  mottled 
with  white  or  black  markings.  They  abound  in  a 
very  valuable  fibre,  remarkable  alike  for  fineness, 
elasticity,  and  strength.  The  Sausevierias  are  chiefly 
of  African  origin,  but  one  at  least  may  be  Indian. 
Some  of  the  species  are  already  widely  distributed 
in  tropical  countries.  They  are  capable  of  being 
propagated  very  readily.  Usually  the  rhizomes  are 
divided  and  planted;  plants  mvy,  however,  be  raised 
from  seed,  or,  better  still,  from  the  leaves,  which, 
if  cut  into  pieces  about  two  or  three  inches  long, 
readily  take  root  in  moist  situations.  Plants  may 
be  put  out  at  3 or  4 feet  apart.  The  first  leaves 
for  cutting  may  be  produced  in  three  to  four  years. 
In  India,  with  iSanseeicria  roxhari/lnana,  1 lb.  of  fibre 
was  e.xtracted  from  40  lb.  of  small  gr.’eii  leaves. 
It  was  calculated  that  “ one  acre  would  yield  1,613  lb. 
of  clean  fibre  at  a gathering,  two  of  which  may  be 
reckoned  oil  yearly.  ” So  far  Sansevieria  fibre  is 
not  in  commerce  It  is,  however,  used  largely  in 
India — where  it  first  received  the  name  of  bowstring 
hemp — in  Ceylon,  and  on  the  West  Co.ast  of  Africa 
for  twine  aud  cordage,  and  is  regarded  as  most 
valuable.  The  fibre,  of  Sawei:iflria  niliiulrica,  known 
in  Angola  as  “Ife,”  is  said  to  be  the  beat  fitted 
for  deep  sea  sounding  of  any  fibre  known.  The 
special  merits  of  the  fibre  yielded  by  each  species 
will  be  mentioned  below. 
Konje  Hemp  ( Samtevierin  giiiiieensis). — One  of  the 
oldest  and  best  known  species.  The  mottled  leaves 
are  somewhat  flat  and  leathery,  about  3 to  four  feet 
long,  3 inches  broad  in  the  middle.  On  the  Zambesi 
it  yields  “a  valuable  fibre  similar  to  Manila  hemp.” 
It  grows  “ in  great  abundance  in  many  places,  keep- 
ing to  the  shade  of  woods.  ” In  Mauritius,  Jamaica, 
Cuba,  and  Trinidad  it  is  semi-wild  and  yields  ex- 
cellent fibre.  In  Jamaica  the  return,  under  favour- 
able onditions,  is  estimated  at  14  tons  of  dry  fibre 
per  acre,  of  the  gross  value  of  £45.  Samples 
received  in  this  country  from  Trinidad,  in  1886,  vere 
valued  at  £20  per  ton,  but  the  colour  a.nd  strength 
were  not  normal.  Good  machine-cleaned  fibre  from 
Cuba  is  said  to  have  realised  £50  ]jer  ton. 
Sansevieria  longijlora. — This  plant  is  a native  of 
equatorial  Africa.  The  leaves  are  like  those  of  S. 
guineensis,  but  usually  larger  or  flatter,  and  not  in- 
variably blotched  with  green.  The  best  distinction 
is  the  individual  flower,  which  is  3.4  to  4 iuches  long, 
while  in  -S',  gnineensis  it  is  only  2 iuches  long.  Fibre 
from  -S'.  longifiora,  grown  at  Kow,  was  described  in 
1887  as  “ very  bright,  clean,  and  strong;  in  every 
way  a most  desirable  commercial  article.  It  would 
compete  with  the  best  Sisal  hemp  for  rope-making 
purposes.  Valu.s  £.30  per  ton.” 
Pangane  Hemp  (Sansevieria  ICirkiiJ.— The  leaf  is 
very  horny  lu  texture,  with  a brown  edge,  much  mottled 
on  both  sides.  This  species  was  discovered  by 
Sir  .John  Ivirk,  who  states,  “It  grows  abundantly 
neai  I angane  on  the  mainland  opposite  the  island 
of  Zanzibar .It  is  used  by  the  natives  and  yields 
a long  and  useful  fibre.”  The  robust  habit  and 
large  .size  of  the  leaf  of  this  plant  render  it  very 
valuable  for  fibre  purposes.  Under  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances a single  leaf  will  attain  the  height  of 
9 feet.  Fibre  from  a plant  grown  at  Kew  was 
v.ilued  in  18S7  at  £27  per  ton. 
Noyauda  {Sanserieria  -:ei/lnnir.a).— This  has  Ions 
been  cultivated  in  Ceylon.  The  leaves  are  semi- 
circular ill  transverse  section,  1 to  2 feet  lono-  dull 
green  with  a red  margin,  and  copiously  banded  with 
white.  The  Singhalese  use  the  fibre  in  numerous 
ways  for  string,  ropes,  mats,  and  a coarse  kind  of 
cloth.  Generally  the  fibre  is  prepared  by  rettin»  or 
by  simple  beating  and  washing.  The  small  size  of 
th.o  leaves,  aud  the  difficulty  of  handling  them  in 
large  quantities,  would  render  this  species  of  less 
value  ommercially  than  any  of  the  preceding. 
Ife  Hemp  (Sansevieria  cglindrica).— This  is  a most 
distinct  and  curious-looking  plant.  The  leaves  are 
quite  cylindrical  and  solid,  about  3 to  4 feet  long 
and  about  an  imh  in  diameter  at  the  base.  When 
growing  they  look  like  a cluster  of  sharp-pointed 
stems.  The  species  extends  across  South  Africa 
from  Zanzibar  to  Angola.  The  fibre,  as  already 
stated,  is  very  valuable.  -Specimens  prepared  from 
plants  grown  at  Kew  were  valued  at  £28  per  ton 
-S',  sn/rala  is  very  similar,  but  the  leaves  are  more' 
slender,  with  rather  deeper  vertical  grooves.  The 
fibre  is  slightly  weaker,  and  valued  at  £26  per  ton 
Sisal  Hemp. 
Sisal  hemp,  Henequen,  or  Yucatan  hemp,  is  pro- 
duced by  a species  of  Agave,  native  of  Mexico  of 
which  the  common  “American  aloe”  is  the  type 
Tfiere  are  two,  if  not  more,  varieties  cultivated  for 
fibre.  The  chief  one  is  the  “ Sacqui  ” {Ar/ave  rigida 
var.  longijolta).  Plants  were  received  at  Kew  in  1879’ 
and  again  in  1890.  The  other  is  the  “ Yaxqui  ’’ 
{Agave  rigida,  va,v.  sisalana).  The  former  has  leaves 
with  side  teeth,  and  a strong  terminal  spine;  the 
latter  has  the  terminal  spine  only ; the  edges  of  the 
leaves  are  smooth. 
Cultivation.— These  Agava  plants  are  propagated 
either  by  suckers  from  the  base  of  the  stem,  by  seed 
or  by  bulbils  (called  “pole”  plants)  produced  on  the 
flowering  branches.  The  latter  appaar  in  the  axils 
below  the  flower,  and  number  many  thousands.  They 
remain  in  the  parent  plan  until  they  are  about  four 
to  six  iuches  long,  and  sometimes  much  longer. 
The  land  suited  for  the  cultivation  of  Sisal  hemp 
is  entirely  different  from  that  required  for  Manila 
hemp.  The  best  fibre  districts  in  Yucatan  possess  an 
arid  climate,  with  gravelly,  stony,  or  rooky  soils;  they 
are  only  a few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ; the 
summer  heat  is  intense.  It  is  claimed  that  the  fibre 
is  s’ronger  and  more  abundant  in  dry,  hot  soils  than 
in  rich,  deep  soils.  The  plantations  are  formed  with 
young  plants  about  18  to  20  inches  high.  These  are 
put  out  in  rows,  at  distances  varying  from  6 to  12 
feet  apart,  equal  to  about  600  to  1,000  to  the  acre 
Broad  lanes  are  left  here  aud  there  for  the  purpose" 
of  making  roads  or  tramways,  all  convergincr  on  the 
factory,  where  the  leaves  are  cleaned.  A plantation 
begins  to  yield  in  three  to  five  years,  depending  of 
the  size  of  the  plants  when  first  put  in,  and  the 
ne.ture  of  the  soil  and  cultivation. 
Harvesting.— 'When  the  leaves  are  fit  to  cut  10  to 
20  are  taken  from  each  plant,  beginning  from  below 
The  cuuing  may  be  repeated  two  or  tfiree  times  a 
year  according  to  the  vigour  of  the  plants.  As  soon 
as  a plant  shows  signs  of  “poling”  it  is  regarded 
as  useless  for  fibre  purposes.  The  pole  is  cut  out 
and  the  remaining  leaves  are  harvested  soon  after 
To  provide  for  the  continuance  of  the  plantation 
“ it  is  the  custom  to  place  at  the  foot  of  each  plant 
(when  about  three-fourths  of  its  life  are  spent)  a 
small  plant  which  replaces  the  old  plant  when  the 
