BINDER^TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 15 
Two tests indicate that the machines clean sisal more satisfactorily 
than maguey. The results obtained in these tests were as follows : 
Maguey. — 10 per cent grade A, 75 per cent grade B, 15 per cent grade C. 
Sisal. — 85 per cent grade A. 15 per cent grade B. 
The tests made to determine the relative percentage of fiber ob- 
tained by machine cleaning and retting indicated that with both 
maguey and sisal the retting process gives a slightly larger per- 
centage of fiber than is obtained with machine cleaning. 
The essential conclusion that can be drawn from the results of 
these tests is that, with good business management and an adequate 
supply of leaves, the medium-sized and probably the large fiber- 
cleaning machines can be profitably operated in the Philippine 
Islands and can be used for cleaning either maguey or sisal. 
THE SISAL SITUATION. 
A detailed and accurate statement showing the relative value of 
sisal and maguey when grown under Philippine conditions can not 
be made at the present time. It would not be possible to find in any 
one locality in the Philippine Islands even 1 acre each of properly 
cultivated maguey and sisal from which complete and reliable data 
could be obtained. No accurate data are obtainable showing the 
production of leaves and fiber for a given area of either sisal or 
maguey in the Philippine Islands. It appears, however, that sisal 
will prove to be a more profitable crop than maguey in the Philip- 
pines. This assumption is based on the known production of sisal 
in other countries and the estimated production of maguey in the 
Philippines, as well as on the fact that sisal leaves are more easily 
and satisfactorily cleaned by the machines than maguey leaves and 
that sisal fiber is more satisfactory than maguey fiber for binder- 
twine purposes. (Fig. 4.) 
During the last year it has been ascertained that maguey leaves 
can be satisfactorily cleaned by the machines without being crushed 
before cleaning, and the tests indicate that a given weight of maguey 
leaves will produce a larger percentage of dry fiber than the same 
weight of sisal leaves. These facts, while having an important bear- 
ing on the subject of the relative value of sisal and maguey, may 
be taken to indicate that maguey can be profitably grown where 
sisal is not readily obtainable, rather than the conclusion that maguey 
is a more profitable crop than sisal. 
For a number of years the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture has 
been importing sisal plants from the Hawaiian Islands, and during 
the last two years the United States Department of Agriculture 
has purchased 500,000 sisal bulbils for distribution in the Philip- 
pines. 
