The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-10-15
THE PLANTAIN AND BANANA.
NO. VIII.

1OuI OOJeClS SuOulu NC hSpG III view III
any process.
LIST. Saving of the cellular tissue
for paper.
End. Preserving the fibre OF an
agreeable appearance.
3rd. Ultimate freeing the fibre
from the tissue.
4th. Preserving all the fibre.
And, with relation to these, the
processes and mechanical arrange.
ment are to be considered.
BY no process of the hand can
clean fibre be profitably procured.
For this resort must be had to ma
chinery.
The tibrous material, that is to say,
the stalk after it has undergone the
squeezing process without separation
OF the tissue or pulp, may be pre-
pared either by hand or machine, the
latter being, of course, the most eco
nomical.
Squeezing, rinsing, partial separa,
ton, or 'teazing" with the hand, after
being hung up on rails of bamboo, or
other cheap article, and rapid drying,
may be recommended as a simple and
etficacious process for obtaining the
fibrous material in a favorable state,
and with the several objects referred
to in view.
Machinery for performing this, and
etfecting the final separation OF the
fibre from the pulp or tissue, must be
a desideratum. In the absence OF
such machinery parties can only hope
to prepare advantageously the tibrous
material by hand.
1t has been supposed that boiling
of the material would render the sep.
aration of the fibre at future time
more easy; but this seems unneces-
sary. Simple saturation in water for
some few hours renders it fit for fur
ther process.
Much objection is felt by the labor
ers, from whom alone are the stalks
at present to be procured in abund.
ance, to cutting the stalks, from the
fear of injury to young shoots by loss
of manure. 1t would be well if fear
on this hand could be shown ground.
less.
The Rev. w. j. Pearson, of ST.
Thomas's, Jamaica, thus speaks, after
much practical experience in the pre-
paration of the fibre:
Provided the tissue remain on till
it reaches England, the fibrous mate.
rial ought TO be more valuable than
the clean fibre, for the worth of the
pulp should exceed the cost of sepa.
ration. In the preparation Of the ma.
terial, also, it seems unnecessary to
preserve more than two qualities,
that of outer and inner, and this not
from any great difference in the fibres,
but from the color of the tissue, the
outer being darker than the inner;
coarse and fine fibres will be found in
every layer, and the former are, for
the most part, but assemblages OF the
latter.
In trying the strength OF the fib-
rous material it will be we'll to ascer.
tain whether you have thin or stout
fibre overlaid with tissue, otherwise
the result would be deceptive.
The process OF preparation, both OF
the material and of the fibre being
tedious, it is very probable that diff.
Guilty will be experienced in inducing
the laborers to engage in it on their
own account, at any rate until the re-
turns become certain and profitable.
The quantity OF material or fibre
yielded by sucker is, at present, so
small, that until results prove remun-
erative, they will not have sufficient
inducement to enter on the new
source of industry. From my ex.
perience stalks do not average more
than one and one-half pound of fib.
rous material, consequently Of clean
fibre much less. The fibrous mate.
rial seems almost fit for the manufac.
ture OF small cordage, even as it is.
1t must not be supposed that the
work of preparing the material is
either easy or pleasant. To bring up
the suckers from the deep valleys in
which they sometimes grow, is dit.
ficult task, and to carry them on the
head up hill and down dale, as has
often to be done, is very laborious.
While some suckers are small, there
are others frequently heavier than can
be borne by one man, and until the
work can be carried on by cart, there
is no help but to divide such for long
distances. The process by hand, Of
expressing the watery parts, is also
very tedious, and drying and baling
require much care and attention.