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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN NO. 1278 
r 
Washington, D. C. 
October 25, 1924 
PRODUCTION OF HENEQUEN F 
ND CAMPECHE 
By H. T. Edwards, Specialist in Fiber-Plant Production, Office of Fiber-Plant 
Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction 1 
Outline of the binder-twine fiber sit- 
uation 1 
Importance of benequen in Yucatan. 2 
Climatic conditions 2 
Soil conditions 2 
Geographical distribution, 3 
Areas planted 3 
Varieties 4 
Page 
Plantation organization and manage- 
ment 5 
Henequen fiber 13 
Present production 17 
Condition of plantations 17 
Market situation 18 
Future production of fiber 18 
Henequen in Campeche 19 
Summary 20 
INTRODUCTION 
Henequen 1 fiber has been imported in steadily increasing quanti- 
fies into the United States during the past 40 years. The average 
annual imports of this fiber, which were 40,000 tons during the 
5-vear period 1887-1891, had increased to an annual average of 
148,000 tons during the 4-year period 1918-1921. 
The two features of the henequen situation of special interest to 
the American farmer are that this fiber constitutes the main source 
of supply of the raw material used for the manufacture of binder 
twine and that practically all the henequen imported into the 
United States is obtained from the States of Yucatan and Campeche. 
The condition of their henequen industry therefore has a very 
important bearing on the welfare of the grain-producing industry 
of the United States. 
OUTLINE OF THE BINDER-TWINE FIBER SITUATION 
The United States consumes annually from 100,000 to 150,000 tons 
of binder twine and exports from 30,000 to 50,000 tons. 
This twine is manufactured from henequen, sisal, abaca (pro- 
nounced a-ba-ka ; Manila hemp), maguey, istle, and phormium (New 
Zealand flax) fibers. Henequen fiber, with the exception of a very 
1 Henequen (pronounced henr-e-Mn) is the gray-leaved plant, Agave fourcrotjdes Lem.. 
cultivated in Yucatan and Campeche. Its fiber, usually known in the market as sisal, is 
different from the true sisal, which is produced by a distinctly different species of agave. 
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