Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1888-10-25
IN u FLOAIDA FLAx.
A Fibre Made from the EKaguey
Plant that Hs Designed 90 Displace


Piant tnnt m DehtEned 20 Utsplace
Sefsel.
Atlanta Constitution, octobsr sta.
MIR. d. p. Burden, of Sanford, has In
troduced the Spanish maRuey into Flor
ida and has invented o machine for de-
oorticating the fibre so as 10 make sub
stituie for seisei.
he ERys the manufacturers sof twipe
for the twine binders of the Northwest
import annually from South America
100, 600, 600 pounds of seissl fbra at a
cost of eight oents per pound This
enormous gum Of rs coo, 600, be says,
might Just rs we'll go TO Florida, where
the maguey plant will grow on the most
barren land, deriving its substance piin-
cipatly from the air. MIR. Rurdon SAYS
that he lived 20 years 10 Cuba, and there
made pillow lines OF the msRuey fibre.
When he came to Florida he found that
the maguey plant would grow there. Sec
| ing what an enormous quantity Of seiHei
was imported into this country from
| South America, he began to cultivate tie
ms9uey plant and to experiment with O
machine that would thoroughly and rap
idly deoortioste the leaves Of tho plsst,
leaving clear hbrs.
The plant has prospered and the ma
chino hss been perfected.
The fifteen maauey bulbs planted 10
months ago have become 10000, and
they have put MIR Burden to no expense.
The machine takes the green leaves and
in an Instant turns them into white
dbre that very much resembles ssiRel, the
material out OF which ropes and twins are
made.
II oan raise 5, 200 plants to the acre.
said Dir. Burden, land they will average
more than SO pounds each--some have
weighed 200 pounds. get one onrth of
this weight Ia net hbre and l manufacture
II at q cost OF cent and half pound.
Tho farmer gets quarter of cent q
pound, and that gives him $3.50 to $400
an acre. This fbre Is stronger than
stisei; No. cord OF maguey fore has a
tensile strength OF $50 pounds, while the
same size seisel cord will stand only so,
Mr.. William Deafing, of Chicago, who
uses 5000 tons of South American seisei
a year In making co1dsge, told me that
the money might Just as well 90 to
Florida. He gave me every facility for
testing my machinery In his shop
Mr.. Burden exhibited white hbre
very much resembling seiseI. BE had a
piece Of the leaf with part Of 1t decorti-
Gated, showing this clear, white fibre adj
herring to the end Of the grean leaf whsre
the wheel took hold. The work Is per-
fectly done and the machine costs $500
TO $500.
II have nm order now TO ship one of
the best machines and 500 maguey bulbs
to Riverside, California, /" said Mr.. Bur-
don. 81 also have fine opening in Yuca-
TAN Nuharr fha MN AN, xlark axr.slE
to go there with my machine and manu-
fsoture the hbre. II Is such an opening
aBalmost tempts me to leave this country"
win the msguey plant grow in South
Gsorgiaf" rs
81 think il will. Frost does not hurt
itiit is perennial and will growon most
barren pine land"
What do you propose to do ?"
81 have been to work on my machine
five years and l have just got IL per-
feoted. thought would propose to
the Atlanta people that would furnish
the fibre to them and let them mAnufao-
turs cordage right here in Georgia. viii
liam Dearing makes $3 600 600 worth OF
oordage, Mccormick makes halt as much
again and there are several other large
manufacturers, They pay cents q
pohAd Az SaW LoFA IOF iud lmpufteu
seisel and sell the Irvine for % cents."
Chow about bagging for cotton p
81 propose TO manufacture bageinR out
of banana fibre. Il is softer fbre and
easier TO get out than that nj the maguey."
what will the banana fibre cost 2"
81 could not make 1t for less than 8
cents pound"
sand what could you make two pound
bagging for ~
"Lst me see.--about cents"
The leaves Of the mseuey very much
resemble the ssbre-like leaves Of the pal
metto plant Of south Georgia. "The
plant grows from bulb" said Mr.. Bur-
don, ''and has small roots like an onion.
Every year IL puts out shoots from Che
roots and take up the shoots and trans
plant them into beds where they form
bulbs. Every four years the plant forms
a stem, which runs up 40 feet and flowers.
The seed drop all around and thousands
of plants spring up from them.n
In one Of the specimens exhibited by
Mr.. Burden the fibre was so inches long.