, 1890-05-31

tIOHVO IdtCIJ " tudU olICduA pubulSuCA II
the KeW Bulletin for March 1887, PIP. 3-8.
Mr.. Stoddarts report published by the
Government of Jamaica} on Which the eS.
Inmates of profit ia Nj. Taylor'S memoran-
dun are based, WAS communicated hy Kew
to the Colonial Office for transmission TO
the Government of he Bahamas in reply
to- despatch from Governor (Sir HENRY
Blake. dated oath January 1887.
1t was pointed out at the time in par. S
of the Kew letter, dated 10th February 1887,
that 'the statements contained in the pam
phlet are not necessarily endorsed either
by the Government o jamaica or by Kew.
1t processes to he nothing more than an
account given by Il JAMAICAN resident OF
the fibre industry in Yucatan in which he
was practically engaged tor some timer
1t is to the credit at Mr.. StoAdart, how.
ever, that his account Of The fibre industry
of Iucatan Is eontrNtq in most particulars
by 0the. writer's, and there is no reason to
believe that is requires correction in any
essential part. II may at the same time b6
desirable to poinr out some of the condl.
tionS under which The industry is remune-
rative in Yucatan.
For instance the rates of wages in Yucca.
tan are comparatively low (~ranging from
Gil to Is per day for la bourers), and under
such circumstances Mr.. Stodddrt estimates
lat page 10y the net profit on current ex.
penses at "between GA and G5 per acre
(equal to between 20 and 80 dollars per
acre." The plants, if Is inches high when
first put out, are sand to be ready for ~
first cutting in three years. This period
may, however, under unfayourable circum.
stances, be prOl OnGed to five or six years.
Another important point to bear in mind
is that Mr.. StOddart speaks only of returns
obtained by the use of machines driven bv
steam-pOwer and by working plantations Of
say 100 acres or more. The methods suited
to one country are not necessarily suited to
another. POSS fly at the Bahamas il might
be advantageous for small cuItivators tn
clan the fibre in their leisure hours bv
hand, and sell it locally to merchants who
would ultimately undertake the business of
baling and shipping it.. If the fibre is not
properly baied, the cost Of freight would be
so large as to greatly reduce the returns.
Indeed the flIre in ii loose state ia
50 bulky thTt It would be almost i'm.
possible to ship it at such % rate as would
enable it to compete successfully with
tibrps from other countries. 1t is usual ia
pack this class OF fibre by means Qfhydrau.
lie presses, in bales of about 400 bounds
each. If The small propriet0rS In the
Is ahamas take up q fibre industry, it is
evident that SONG Vne POSSESSING capital
should be prepared to purchase the fibre
in small quantities and pack it by means
of suitable presses ready for shipment,
TIL ere are no grounds, however, tor sun.
posing that q fibre industry based on A0ave
and Fmcr@G plants and judiciously pursued
can be otherwise than satisfactory.
A collection of fibre plants was received.
at Kew about two years ago from the
Government of the Bahamas, and it was sta
tedin a letter { ltel the 10th May 1887. that
among these specimens there. in D species
exactly ans weTIng 10 That welding the
SiSal hemp Of commerce. The Abres Of No.
2 FuTcrRG cabenSiS), and No. 3 (Furcyga
C~NbeDS9S, var. inermiSl, are the most yaiua.
bic, and these are used partly AS D source
of comm etcial fbreS in YucaIap. The true
Sisal Hemp plant is Ag0re rigjda. This
may be abundant in The Bahamas. but no
specimens were received Of it,. Other fibre
plants received at the time mentioned were
AgGvG lUridG and AgdUG Americana var.
gGrGegGtG, the latter 4 y%ariegated form of
the common American Agaye. The latter
are of little value for fibre as compared
with the true Sissl hemp, plant. Speci.
mems of African bow-stripgc hemp
(Sansevieria guiniepsis) were also re-
.ceived, the fibre of which is of high value.
A fibre industry has been found in exis-
tence in Mauritius tor some years. The
experience gained there might be of ser.
vice in the Bahamas, especially in regard