The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1885-03-18
A New Source Of Wealth.

One of our New Orleans exchanges
says
''Dr. j. j. Harris of Ocala, Fla, for
warded a package of fibrous plants to the
Exposition, for the purpose of ascertain
ing whether the Exposition afforded any
means of extracting and freeing the fiber
therefrom. The plant grows wild, COW
ering thousands of acres, and can be had
for the gathering. This valuable textile
(sanseviera or bow-string hemp, is COM
mon on the Ceylon coast, from which it
takes its name. The plant has been
Known and priced in India from remote
antiquity, under the name of rlurUa.
In the catalogue of Indian fbres (Exhi-
bition, 1862 it is called moOrgd, mazooI
and moorgdUee. 1t abounds on the coast
of Guinea, around Celon, and along the
Bay of Bengal, extending to Java and
the coasts of China. They are stemless,
perennial plants, throwing out runners
and having only root leaves, sheathing
bases. They flower from January to
May, and the plants grow wild in jun
giles. They are easily propagated on
almost every soil, from the Slips which
issue in great abundance from the roots,
requiring little or no care, and not re-
quiring to be renewed often, il at ALL
DR.. Buchanan found this plant en-
ployed in the manufacture of cordage at
Bnngalore, and bow-strings are still
made of it in the Sircars, and along the
coast of Bengal.
In the interior of Bengal it is equally
common and wild, but not so largely
used for fibre.
The leaves are three to six feet long
when the plant is cultivated, and the
fibre, which extends the whole length,
is separated from the pulpy portion.
The native method of preparing the fibre
is to place the leaves upon smooth
board, then press one end of the leaf
down with one of the great toes, and
with a thin bit of hard stick, held be-
tween the two hands, they scrape the
leaf from them, and very quickly re-
move every part of the pulp This is
also accomplished by sleeping the leaves
in water until the pulpy portion decays,
when the fibre is washed and cleaned,
though IN some cases sleeping disolves
the fibre.
All the evidence at our command, his
torical as well as from personal expert
ence, proves that all tropical fibre plants,
including rami and jute, are handled
most economically, and produce better
commercial product if prepared while
green.
1t is estimated that forty pounds of
fresh leaves, three and a half to four
feet in length, will yield pound of
cleaned fibre, or over 1000 pounds of
cleaned fibre per acre at a gathering.
With favorable season such gatherings
may be assured annually. Royle states
that the UNFINISHED fibre will bear a
strain of 2SO pounds compared with
agave, which bore 270 pounds. though
DR.. Nights experiment gave 362 pounds
for agave to $40 pounds for sanseviera.
DIR. RoXburgh ascertained that line of
moorga fibre four feet long bore aweight
of 120 pounds, when cord of the same
size made of Russia hemp bore but Jos
pounds. After remaining in water ZIG
days, the former bore weight of thirty
pounds while the latter was perfectly
rotten.
\ Specimens of the fibre in the Florida
4 exhibit, Government Building, attests
the efficiency of machinery in prepar-
! ing it for market