304 
Agave  Americana. 
(Am  Jour.  Pharnu 
(       July,  1876. 
mainland,  where  it  grows  as  far  north  as  lat.  280.  It  grows  also  in 
Southwestern  Texas  and  Southern  New  Mexico. 
Uses. — The  growing  plant  is  used  for  hedges  ;  the  dried  flower 
stems  constitute  a  thatch,  perfectly  impervious  to  the  heaviest  rain,, 
and  split  longitudinally,  the  stem  makes  an  excellent  substitute  for  a 
razor-strop.  But  the  most  important  part  of  the  plant  is  the  fibre  of 
the  leaf.  This  is  rather  coarse,  silky-white,  harsher  and  not  quite  so 
strong  as  manilla,  but  makes  beautiful,  clean,  glossy  cordage.  The 
"  yashqui,"  or  prickless  (common  green)  variety  is  most  used  for  this 
purpose.  The  reason  why  such  a  comparatively  small  quantity  of  this 
excellent  fibre  has  been  thrown  into  the  market,  is  because  of  there 
being,  as  yet,  no  ready  means  of  separating  the  pulp  from  the  fibre. 
The  rude  mode  of  bruising  and  steeping  the  leaves  in  water,  and 
afterwards  beating  and  shaking  the  pulpy  matter  off,  is  very  slow  and 
unsatisfactory.    Dr.  Mease  tells  us  that  in  Yucatan  it  is  prepared  "  by 
means  of  two  sharp  corners,  made  by  hollowing  out  the  ends  of  a 
wooden  tool  like  a  flat  ruler  ;  the  fleshy  leaves  are  slit  in  two  or  three 
longitudinal  strips,  and  the  pulpy  substance  being  scraped  off,  the 
fibrous  material  appears,  which  is  then  shaken  loose,  tied  in  a  knot, 
and,  when  dried  in  the  sun,  is  put  up  in  bales  for  exportation."  Seve- 
ral machines  have  been  invented  for  separating  the  fibre ;  the  most 
efficient  is  one  by  Mr.  G.  D.  Allen,  of  Key  West,  but  he  found  much 
difficulty  in  ridding  the  leaf,  in  an  expeditious  manner,  of  a  thin  epi- 
dermis, which  adheres  closely  on  both  sides.    His  idea  was  to  express 
the  juice  by  passing  the  leaves  between  steel  rollers,  ferment  the  juice 
for  the  10  per  cent,  of  alcohol  which  it  will  yield,  place  the  expressed 
leaf  in  water  for  three  or  four  days,  dry,. shake  off  the  pulp  and  utilize 
it  for  manure,  and  clean  the  fibre  for  cordage.    But,  being  too  far  from 
a  market,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  it,  after  having  sustained  heavy 
losses.    One  stalk,  or  plant,  produces  from  75  to  100  leaves  fit  for 
cutting,  and  thirty  tons  of  green  leaves  make  one  ton  of  fibre.  The 
fibre  is  finer  and  easier  separated  before  the  flowering  stalk  shoots  up. 
"  Great  quantities  are  sent  to  Cuba  to  make  coffee-bags,  and  since 
1825  numerous  cargoes  have  been  imported  into  the  United  States,  and 
worked  up  into  hawsers,  running-rigging  and  small  ropes  "  (Dr.  Mease). 
Also,  a  coarse  kind  of  41  thread,  twine  and  hammocks  are  made  from 
the  fibre.    The  ancient  Mexicans  made  from  it  a  coarse  kind  of  paper,, 
and  the  Indians  use  it  for  oakum."     (Chambers'  Cyclop.)    "  The 
