PRODUCTION OF HENEQUEN FIBER 7 
have been made. In some respects these changes will result in more 
economical production, but in other ways there will be a decrease 
in efficiency. 
The economical production of henequen requires not only the pur- 
chase and operation of expensive machinery but also the cultivation 
of large areas of land to furnish a steady supply of leaves for the 
operation of the fiber-cleaning machines. Furthermore, this crop 
must be cultivated for six or seven years before it yields any return. 
For these reasons this is essentially a large-plantation industry. 
Although it is not impossible that some system of cooperative clean- 
ing plants may be developed by groups of small planters, it is by 
no means certain that it would be a success in Yucatan. 
Although it will be possible to make some reduction in the present 
size of the larger plantations and still to maintain the production of 
henequen on a satisfactory and economical basis, this movement may 
easily assume dangerous proportions. While it is very necessary 
that the plantation laborers be given such protection that they may 
be assured of reasonable working hours and a fair wage, it is also 
important that attention be given to the question of maintaining an 
adequate supply of plantation labor and of encouraging habits of 
industry and thrift on the part of the laborers. 
As henequen is the one important crop and as the condition of 
this industry determines the degree of prosperity of practically the 
entire population of the country, it is exceedingly important that 
the Government officials, the planters, and the laborers cooperate in 
a wise and conservative policy that will protect the interests of each 
and all concerned and provide for a normal development of the in- 
dustry. 
PREPARATION OF THE LAND 
The system of cultivation in use on the henequen plantations is 
determined largely by the unusual soil conditions previously de- 
scribed. In the henequen-producing districts most of the land is so 
rocky that plowing is out of the question. The preliminary work of 
preparing a field for planting is to clear the land of all trees and un- 
dergrowth. This work is usually done early in the dry season, in 
order that all waste material can be dried and burned before the 
rains begin. After the work of clearing is completed and if the field 
is one that has not previously been planted to henequen, it is surveyed 
and divided into small sections, known as mecates. A large hene- 
quen plantation is ordinarily divided into fields, each of which has 
an area of approximately 1,000 mecates (100 acres). Before any 
planting is done the fields are very carefully " lined out," and markers 
are placed where the henequen plants are to be set. 
In earlier years when labor was abundant and cheap the dif- 
ferent fields on the henequen plantations were separated by massive 
and carefully constructed stone fences, and the plantations were 
surrounded by even larger stone walls. There are numerous indica- 
tions that, in all the work of preparing the fields for planting as well 
as in that which followed after planting, little economy was practiced 
in the use of labor. The marked change that has occurred in the labor 
situation will undoubtedly result in a corresponding change in plan- 
tation methods, particularly with respect to the preparation of the 
fields for planting. 
