43 
more that his Company alone would he happy to take the entire 
output of Malaya for the next live years could it be kept up to the 
standard of the samples sent. 
Editor. 
FIBRE. 
'1 he Government of the Philippine Islands. 
Department of the Interior 
Bureau of Agriculture 
Manila, P.L 
December 28th , 1904, 
Office of The Chief of Bureau, 
Sen or Don Carlos Juan Schirmer, 
Consul de la Republica Argentina , Singapore. # 
Dear Sir,— I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
recent communication relative to fibre cleaning machinery. 
The annual export of Manila hemp from the Philippines now 
exceed two million pikuls. valued at something more than $20,000,000 
All of this fibre is cleaned by a slow wasteful process requiring a 
large amount of labour and giving, in general, an inferior product. 
There is a great demand for a machine that will clean Manila hemp 
fibre and a number of American inventors are now endeavouring to 
perfect such a machine. We also export considerable maguey fibre, 
while pineapple, murva, and pandang are widely distributed through- 
out the Archipelago. There is an excellent opportunity in this 
country for the introduction of fibre-extracting machinery. 
I note with interest your remarks concerning the future of San- 
sevieria fibre. We Jiave received excellent samples of this fibre from 
different parts of the Philippines and are now experimenting with the 
plant in our Manila gardens. • 
I have, etc., 
H. P. EDWARDS, 
Fibre Expert. Bureau of Agriculture. 
FIBRES — {Continued). 
Fourctoyas . — The Fourcroyas are •commonly known as green 
aloes or Mauritius hemp. All are natives pf Central America, but 
several kinds have been distributed as ornamental or fibre plants in 
different parts of the tropics where they have been cultivated. As 
a rule, they possess bigger and thinner leaves than the true aloes and 
the agaves (American aloes) and the leaves are always bright green 
