, 1890-09-24

the leaves not growing out so near each other
and of q light-green, exceedingly thick. For
this reason they give SO much fibre which for
strength exceeds all others. The leaves Of the
plant, which grow with prickles or thorns on
the edges, the thickness of which is greatest
at the ends, where they are Joined to the tree
and tapers off towards the edges and other
ends which have hard and sharp points,
are slightly gutter formed they grow first
upright, shutting up into one another, then
gradually spread open, and finally bend down
ar ound the tree.
The hard nature Of this plant, which is
almost incredible, proves itself beyond a doubt,
insomuch that if rooted up it will remain
alive for weeks without being replanted.
There is positively no failure in it as with
or without rain, good or bad weather, it grows
and dourishes and never dies. 1t is a "semper
virent" in every sense of the word, and in my
estimation, can have no equal in its life last
ing quality. For a proof Of this have known
during my stay in Yucatan, when it only
rained one month in the year, just a few
showers, and the remaining eleven months
pure dry weather, that the cattle died of
starvation yet, during all that time the
plant remained perfectly intact, not the slight
est failure-not the least affectedb by the drought,
retaining its greenness, giving It's return of
every day cutting and working, and as a fact
producing more fibre, throwing out less ba-
gasse, and all this in g. country devoid of
rivers and streams.
Neither ploughing nor manuring Of land IS
required for the cultivation OF this hemp plant:
no animal of any kind eats it.
e When the fields have arrived to cutting
age" and the work once begun there is no "out
ofcrop' but a perpetual work all the year
round.
The plant lasts, according to til" best au-
thorities for at least Is years in cutting state
pending on the soil and reatmen
1t takes at most three years after being
planted to arrive to it's cutting state. At
this stage and onwards during its existence
the more a plant is cut the better it thrives,
the more leaves it throws out while if it
were to be left uncut 1t would IN a short time,
growing until it finds no other vent, send out
a pole from the centre, the appearance Of
which determines its death although young,
and do what you may it ultimately dies
singularly strange, but really true. so that
the greatest caution IS to be observed as soon
as it reaches this state. which will be found
fully explained IN the chapter on cutting &c.
After it reaches the age Of ID months it will
If planted IN the proper manner, begin to send
OUT around lS rOOCS young SnOOtS or suckers,
and when it arrives to the age Of cutting, in
Vulnerable quantities of them, SO that when
there is no place to be planted they have to
be cut off aud thrown away, the field not ad-
uniting of more plants than those already set
out, and more than that, if these shoots are
allowed to remali they greatly injure the
mother plant by taking from it the nourish-
ment it needs. Inasmuch as | make these
remarks my readers must not for a moment
think it a delicate plant, on the contrary
naturally with care it will turn to better &C
count.
To replenish a field it would only be neces-
sary when, after q number of years, the
mother plants show signs Of fading, to plant
at the proper distances, by the sides of the old
plants or between these, young shoots which
Tires. years after. and upon the failure of the
old ones will be fit for cutting, when q new
field will be up without any loss Of time or
suspension of work. This is undoubtedly the
practice carried on in Yucatan, and a very
good one; there being no necessity of new
lands for the fresh planting, as the old fields
suit admirably and give good results.
Old worked lands are known to give the
best yield,
CHAPTER II.
The different species of Hemp Plants.
There are IN Yucatan seven classes Of
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