438 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan.  I,  1896. 
latter  is  removed.”  The  period  of  the  life  of  a plant 
may  extend  from  five  to  ten  years  or  more.  Cuttiiig 
the  leaves  too  severely  will  accelerate  the  poling  of 
the  plant  and  thus  destroy  its  usefulness. 
Exhartinii  the  Fibre. — 1'he  leaf-entters  are  paid  at 
the  rate  of  2.^  cents  per  day  for  200  leaves.  Tiie 
leaves  are  conveyed  from  the  fields  to  the  factory 
either  on  mule  back  or  by  means  of  light  tramways. 
Each  mule  carries  200  leaves  each  trip ; a t.ask  of 
10,000  leaves  requires  ten  trips,  with  five  mules  each. 
On  the  tramway  a mule  can  draw  a waggon  with 
.S,000  leaves  and  make  five  trips  a day.  Most  of  the 
large  fibre  estates  in  Yucatan  are  provided  with 
light  portable  railways  on  the  French  Decauville 
system.  The  more  common  machine  used  for  ex- 
tracting the  fibre  is  the  ‘-raspador. " It  is  a rude 
])iece  of  machinery  consisting  simply  of  a wheel 
like  a four-foot  pulley  with  a six-inch  face.  Across 
the  latter  are  fitted  pieces  of  brass  an  inch  square 
and  six  inches  long,  running  across  the  face  about 
a foot  apart.  This  wheel  runs  in  a heavy  wooden 
frame  and  makes  about  110  revolutions  per  minute. 
The  leaf  is  put  in  at  one  end  of  the  machine  and 
held  by  a strong  clamp  while  exposed  to  the  beaters. 
The  pulp  is  soon  crushed  out  of  it,  leaving  only 
the  fibre.  The  leaf  is  then  reversed  and  the  other 
end  cleaned  in  the  same  way.  The  average  work 
of  one  machine,  requiring  li  horse-power,  is  7,000 
to  9,000  leaves  per  day  with  two  men  feeding.  It 
is  estimated  that  1,000  ordinary  leaves  will  yield  .50 
pounds  of  dry  fibre.  Exceptionally  they  will  yield 
100  pounds,  but  from  strong  plants  from  five  to 
seven  years  old  75  pounds  would  be  a good  yield. 
After  the  fibre  is  cleaned  it  is  spread  out  in  the 
sun  to  dry.  It  is  afterwards  pressed  into  bales  by 
lever  or  screw  presses  or  by  hydraulic  pressure. 
The  latter  method  is  becoming  general.  The  bales 
vary  from  1550  to  100  pounds,  with  a cubic  measure- 
ment of  22  feet.  It  i.s  calculated  tliat  the  total 
cost  of  growing  and  cleaning  the  fibre  and  of  deliver- 
ing it  at  Progresso,  the  port  of  shipment,  is  about 
iji  cents  to  4 cents  per  pound  Mexican  money  (about 
ijd.  to  l.Jd.  English  money). 
Fofiilioii  of  the  liuht.'ftr//. — The  fibre  plantations  in 
lucatan  are  estimated  to  cover  about  24,000  acres. 
The  total  yield  in  lti9  was  350,000  bales  of  375  Id. 
each  giving  a tota  eight  of  131,250,000  lb.  For 
the  whole  country,  this  would  be  at  the  rate  of 
760  lb.  per  acre.  The  actual  return  is  probably  a 
good  deal  more,  as  the  total  area  under  cultivation 
is  not  aT  yielding  fibre.  The  estimated  yield  of  the 
Yucatan  plantations  in  1S95  was  400,000  bales.  A 
State  duty  of  20  cents  per  100  lb.  is  levied  on  hemp 
exported  from  Progresso.  A detailed  account  of  the 
fibre  industry  in  Yucatan  is  given  in  the  “ Kew 
Bulletin,”  1892,  pp.  272-277,  and  1893,  pp.  212-218 
The  latter  was  prepared  by  her  Majesty’s  Vice-Consul 
at  Progresso.  A general  account  of  Sisal  hemp 
plants,  and  efforts  to  start  industries  in  various 
countries  is  given  in  the  “Kew  Bulletin,”  1892,  pp. 
21-40.  Attached  to  this  is  a return  of  the  average 
price  per  ton  (spot  value)  obtained  for  Sisal  hemp 
in  this  country  for  each  month  from  January,  1879, 
to  December,  1891.  The  following  is  a brief  summary, 
based  on  this  return,  brought  down  to  September, 
1895 
Year. 
Highest. 
Low'est. 
Average  for 
the  Year. 
£ 
s. 
.£ 
s. 
£ 
s. 
32 
10 
21 
0 
24 
0 
29 
0 
24 
0 
27 
0 
56 
10 
45 
0 
50 
0 
20 
0 
15 
0 
17 
10 
17 
0 
13 
0 
14 
7 
1879 
1883 
1889 
1894  
1895  ; ( 
Jan.  to  Sept,  i , , . , 
The  fall  in  prices,  so  marked  in  the  United 
Kingdom  since  18.89,  was  equally  prevalent  in  the 
United  states.  This  will  appear  from  the  following 
Price  per  jgjp.j,  igoq.  1895.  to  Sept, 
lb.  in. 
Now  York.  Cents.  Cents.  Cents.  Cents. 
Dec.  31.  C.  to  6.i  S'  to  3H  to  2g  2J  to  4^ 
Note  added.— The  monihly  report  on  Sisal  on  the 
15th  Seiilember,  1895,  sliowcd  a more  favourable 
tendency.  The  spot  value  was  .tTO  to  T17  per  ton. 
BoMii.w  Ai.oe  Fibre. 
Bombay  Aloe  ( Ai/aec  eicijiamj. — The  plant  is  a 
native  of  tropical  America,  but  widely  sp-ead  in  the 
East  Indies.  It  is  extensively  used  as  a hedge  plant 
in  ludia,  in  B 'nlia  ^and  the  North-West  Provinces. 
The  leaves  are  very  long,  narrow,  and  concave, 
with  rather  distant,'  brown  teeth,  and  a terminal 
spine.  Numerous  bulbils  are  produced  on  the  flower 
spike,  hence  the  specific  name.  When  white-rope 
fibres  were  in  high  demand,  the  fibre  from  Ar/ave 
vivipam  was  prepared  rudely  by  hand,  and  shipped 
from  Bombay.  It  was,  from  the  first,  practically 
unsaleable.  In  1890  the  stock  in  this  country  had 
accumulated  to  over  1,000  tons.  The  prices  quoted 
were  from  t‘5  to  £12  per  ton.  As  pointed  out  in 
the  “ Kew  Bulletin,  ” 1890,  pp.  50-51,  well  cleaned 
fibre  from  this  species  was  really  worth  at  taht 
time  from  £25  to  J'30  per  ton.  The  ditforeiice  in 
price  was  entirely  due  to  the  character  of  the  cleaning. 
A very  similar  fibre  to  Bombay  aloe  fibre  was 
imported  this  year-from  Natal  under  the  name  of 
South  African  hemp.  It  was  probably  yielded  by 
Aijare  americana.  It  was  of  bad  colour,  not  well 
cleaned,  and  almost  unsaleable.  It  is  useless  to  ship 
fibre  of  this  character  from  any  British  possession. 
Maniba  Aloe  Fibre. 
Manila  Aloe  (Apace  rivipara). — The  1 hint  known 
locally  as  “Maguey”  is  the  same  as  that  yielding 
the  Bombay  fibre  mentioned  above.  It  is  also  cleaned 
by  baud.  The  value  of  the  Manila  fibre  has  always 
been  slightly  higher  than  the  Bombay  fibre,  owing 
to  its  being  presented  in  a cleaner  condition.  In 
March,  1893,  Manila  a'oe  fibre  was  quoted  at  17s. 
per  cwt.,  while  Bombay  aloe  fibre  was  dull  at  8s.  to 
13s.  per  cwt.  It  was  only  possible  to  produce  the 
former  when  the  inice  of  white-rope  fibres  was  ex- 
cepliona'ly  high.  Of  late  years  it  has  almost  dis- 
appeared from  commerce.  In  the  Philippines  the 
aloe  fibre  is  used  for  making  strings  for  violins.  It 
is  important  to  distinguish  between  this  fibre  and 
Manila  hemp.  The  latter  is  yielded  by  A/ii.m  le.riilis. 
Mauritius  Hemp. 
The  Green  or  I'ketid  Aloe  yielding  Mauritius  hemp 
(Furcra’a  (/ipanlca)  was  introduced  as  a garden  plant 
from  South  America,  about  1790.  It  is  known  amongst 
the  French  as  A/oi-s  vert.  In  1837  it  had  established 
itself  spontaneously  in  many  localities  in  the  island. 
About  1872,  the  quantity  of  plants  growing  on 
abandoned  sugar  estates  suggested  their  utilisation 
for  fibre  purposes.  The  first  exports  were  214  tons, 
of  the  value  of  £4,934.  Since  that  time,  with  some 
fluctuations,  duo  to  tin  ebb  and  flow  of  demand, 
the  Mauritius  hemp  industry  has  sttadily  advanced. 
The  vaiue  of  the  exports  is  now  about  £50.tiOt) 
annually.  The  plant  has  much  the  habit  of  an 
“Aloe,”  but  Ihe  leaves  are  bright  green  in  colour, 
and  with  no  teeth  or  terminal  spine.  The  leaves 
are  often  4 to  7 feet  long,  and  5 to  8 inches  broad 
in  the  middle.  The  flowers  are  greenish  white,  on 
a branched  peduncle  or  “pole”  10  to  20  feet  hio-h. 
Bulbils  are  produced  as  in  some  species  of  Apove. 
The  plant  is  chiefly  propagated  by  means  of  these. 
Regular  plantations  are  established  on  the  same 
plan  as  those  described  under  Sisal  hemp.  Plants 
that  have  “poled,”  are  replaced  by  strong  young 
plants  from  nurseries.  The  life  of  a p'aiu  is  about 
seven  to  ten  years.  They  are,  therefore,  cut  for 
about  four  or  five  years  before  they  pole.  Over- 
cutting the  leaves  tends  to  cause  the  plant  to  flower 
and  die  prematurely. 
Fibre  Machintc. — The  hemp  indust'.y  in  Mauritius 
was  greatly  advanced  by  the  invention  of  local 
machines,  called  prattee.  They  cost  about  £20  each, 
and  are  worked  by  steam  or  water  power.  The 
grattes  are  on  the  same  jirinciple  as  the  ra.y/atlor 
of  Yucatan,  and  consist  of  a drum,  with  In  Ited  blades, 
which  revolves  at  a great  speed  in  front  of  a feed 
table,  on  which  the  loaves  are  placed.  One  giatte 
is  served  by  two  men.  who  woi  k alternately ; one  of 
them  must  be  left-handed.  Theout-tuiu  of  wet  fibre 
for  each  machine  is,  on  an  nveiage,  nboul  !tl  lb.  per 
hour;  the  out-luin  of  dry  fibre  p.i  day  of  eight 
hours  for  each  machine  is  214  lb.  The  average  cost 
of  producing  a ton  of  fibre  ready  for  shipment  in 
1890  is  225  rupees.  A full  account  of  the  Mauritius 
