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Fibres can be classified into bark or bast-fibres, and leaf-fibres. 
The former being all derived from dicotyledonous plants, the latter 
from monocotyledons. 
Leaf- Fibres. 
The leaf-fibres suited for this country are those derived from 
Sanseviera, Agave , Fourcroya , Yucca , P and anus, Musa, (Bananas) 
{Ananas) Pineapple, Bromelia pinguin , to which may be added 
Curculigo and the palms Arenga Caryota. 
Sanseviera. 
There are five or six species of Sanseviera, most of which are 
natives of Africa, but several of them seem closely allied and are 
possibly not specifically distinct. Four kinds have long been grown 
in the Botanic Gardens, Singapore. 
.S'. Roxbur gliiana , the Indian Species, Murva. 
S. Guineensis , Konje hemp, 
S. Cylindrica , Ife hemp. 
S. Ekrenbereit, a dwarE kind, of no use for fibre. 
The three first mentioned species all produce excellent fibres 
which have long been known as bow-string hemps, and extensively 
used in the countries in which they are indigenous; as cultivated 
plants, except for ornament, they have been hardly ever brought 
into trade, although the samples of fibres which have been obtained 
from them have always been very highly valued. With suitable 
machinery there can be no reason why they should not be grown 
as catch-crops by rubber planters and others who have to wait for 
some years before their main crop comes into bearing. 
Cultivation. 
All the best kinds are cultivated in the same way and grow 
with the utmost readiness in the Straits Settlements with very lit- 
tle trouble. They can be propagated from small pieces of the 
orange coloured rhizome which is usually as thick as a pencil; 
pieces two or three inches long readily throw up shoots in damp 
soil and grow rapidly. They can equally well, be propagated from 
leaf-cuttings. The leaves are cut up into pieces about three or four 
inches long and stuck into sandy damp beds or boxes on their edge 
about an inch deep. In a fortnight or three weeks roots and then 
shoots are produced from the lower edges, and soon after the little 
plants can be planted out. The soil that they prefer is rather open 
and fairly damp, sandy or ordinary loose soil suits them well, but in 
very stiff clay they grow less satisfactorily. Partial shade is requi- 
site in order to get the leaves fully .developed to their largest size. 
They remain stunted and poor in full sun, but at the same time 
they are averse to heavy shade, where though they grow persis- 
tently for many years they do not produce the dense mass of leaves 
that they do in quite light shade. The plants when old enough often 
throw up their tall spikes of white flowers like those of a Draccena , 
and produce orange-coloured fruits. But it is so much more easy 
to re-produce the plant from leaf-cuttings or slips that it is not 
worth while to trouble to raise them from seed. 
