6 
BULLETIN 930, U 
S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
During the latter part of 1917 the use of salt-water retted maguey 
for the manufacture of binder twine was discontinued by American 
manufacturers, and there has been but little demand for this product 
in the American markets for the last three years. As a result, the 
exports of maguey fiber from the Philippines during 1918 and 1919 
were less than during 1916 and 1917. There has not been a corre- 
sponding decrease, however, in the area under cultivation. In a few 
isolated cases mague} T plants have been destroyed and the fields 
planted to other crops, but this limited decrease in area has been 
more than offset by new plantings. 
Table II shows the production of maguey and sisal fibers in the 
Philippine Islands for the last eight years, as reported by the divi- 
sion of farm statistics of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture. 
Table II. — Total and average production of maguey and sis<H fibers in the 
Philippine Islands for the 8-year period from 191.2 to 1919, inclusive. 
Year. 
offiber - perhectare. 
Year. 
Production 
offiber. 
Average 
production 
perhectare. 
1912.. 
1913.. 
1914.. 
1915.. 
Metrictons. Piculs. 1 
4,628 i 8.51 ' 
3,619 i 6.17 
7. 583 | 11. 65 
6,315 8.05 
1916.... 
1917.... 
1918.... 
1919.... 
Metrictons. 
13.389 
17,190 
16.664 
12,318 
P'culs. 1 
8.98 
12.31 
11.99 
10.83 
1 A picul is equivalent to 137.5 pounds. 
When the use of Philippine salt-water retted fiber for the manu- 
facture of binder twine was discontinued in 1917 it was, for the time 
being, a severe blow to the maguey industry. Fortunately for the 
maguey planters, there was a strong demand for this fiber in coun- 
tries other than the United States, which partially offset the loss of 
the American market. As the action taken by American manufac- 
turers in regard to salt-water retted fiber has served to stimulate the 
interest of the planters in machine cleaning, this temporary loss of 
the American market may serve to promote, rather than to retard, 
the development of this industry. 
There has been an increased production of maguey fiber during 
recent months, and the present indications are that there will be a 
larger output of binder-twine fiber in the Philippines in 1920 than 
during any previous year. Table III shows the relative production 
of maguey and sisal in the Philippine Islands during the first five 
months of 1920, as compared with the production during the same 
periods in 1918 and 1919. 
The production of maguey in the Philippine Islands with few 
exceptions is a small-plantation industry. Throughout the Provinces 
where maguey is grown there are many small fields and even smaller 
patches of maguey and sisal. The owners of these small plantings 
