XII 
SISAL HEMP AND BLACK WATTLE 
n 9 
such a piece of land, if procurable, ^5 an acre would 
be no excessive price. 
The site selected, an area will be ploughed annually, 
off which a crop will be taken. The wattle will then 
be sown in situ , filling up failures from a nursery. In 
Natal the rows are usually 12ft. apart with 3ft. between 
the seedlings in the row. Possibly 8ft. by 8ft. will 
answer better in this Protectorate, or even 6ft. by 6ft., 
though the latter system necessitates thinning. Before 
sowing, the seed should be placed in a bucket, boiling 
water poured on it and allowed to stand for 24 hours. 
It will then be apt to stick together, but can be sep¬ 
arated, if necessary, by washing in cold water or mix¬ 
ing with sand. The bed for the seed is made with a 
sharp stick, a hole a couple of inches deep being made 
into which three seeds are dropped. If two or three 
seedlings make their appearance, only the strongest is 
allowed to stand. One pound of seed per acre should 
be sufficient. 
The trees will probably be stripped after four years’ 
growth, and for the stripping several methods are 
adopted. That recommended nowadays is to ring 
the tree as high as the stripper can reach, and tear the 
bark downwards. This system ensures that the bark 
be taken right down to the roots where it is richest 
in tannin. The trunk is then cut, the branches are 
trimmed, and the bark is then obtained from the 
higher portions. 
The proper drying and preparation of the bark is all 
essential. If the weather be set fair it may be dried 
out of doors, but in our country it will probably answer 
best in the long run to erect sheds of sufficient size to 
enable all drying to take place under cover. 
After the stripping, and when all the serviceable 
