tests were made with ropes 1 fathom long and 3 inches in cir- 
cumference, with the following results : — The Agave or “Piia” 
broke in a strain of 2,519^1bs.; coir, 2,17olbs.; jute, 2,4o6^1bs.; 
and sunn-hemp, 2,269 .^Ibs. In an experiment with Knssian 
hemp and “ Pita (stout cords), the first-named broke with 
1601bs. weight, and the latter with 270Ibs/^ “ These experi- 
ments,^’ Professor C. R. Dodge adds, “ show the great strength 
of the fibre, which is wmrthy of more extended cultivation and 
employment in the arts.” Fibre prepared by boiling for six 
hours, put through rollers, and then scraped. 
VIII. — Agave Americana (Liimjcus) variety Longifolia. 
‘^Long-leaved Variegated American Aloe.” Ov(\.qv Amaryllideoe. 
Fibre prepared by boiling for six hours, put through the 
rollers, and scraped. It is longer in staple than A. Americana, 
and quite equal to it in strength. 
IX. — Agave Americana (Linmeus) variegata. “ Variegated 
American Aloe,” “ Toddy Lily,^’ or “ Pita Hemp Plant.” 
Order Amaryllidece, Tropical America. 
Yields same quantity of fibre as the normal green-leaved form, 
and is more easily prepared. As in the case of the New Zealand 
Flax Plant (Phormium tenax), the variegated-leaved variety 
produces stronger and softer fibre. Prepared by boiling for six 
hours, put through rollers, and then scraped with blunt knives. 
X. — Agave angustifolia (IlaAAmrth). “ Narrow-leaved 
Agave.” Order Amaryllidece. St. Helena. 
A narrow-leaved species of the genus, producing a very strong 
fibre, which is readily prepared by boiling for six hours, leaves 
placed through the rollers, and then scraped. 
XI. — Agave atrovirkns (Karwinski) syns. A. Jacobiana 
(Salm Dyck). A. Salmiana (Otto). The “ Maguey Blando ” 
of Mexico. Order Amaryllidece. Mexico. 
Fibre prepared by boiling for six hours, put through the 
rollers, and then scraped. 
“ Specimens showui in the Mexican exhibit at the Paris 
Exposition of 1878 closely resembled the fibre of A. Americana, 
white, wavy, of medium strength. Fibre from a plant of A. 
Salmiana, growing in the United States Botanic Garden, 
extracted by the Department, was coarse, harsh, and wiry, with- 
out any of the characteristics of the Mexican samples.” {Useful 
Fibre Plants of the World, Professor C. R. Dodge.) 
