The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-11-08
Mr.. MARSDEN ON FIBER.
VALUABLE DISSERTATION oN
COMING INDUSTRY.


The following report on fiber was pre-
Co. at its meeting Monday evening by
Mr.. Joseph Marsden. Commissioners of
Agriculture:
w. q. HtciB, President Planters
Labor Dc Supply Company SIR: beg
to present the following report on fiber
plants
The list of fiber plants from which
commercial fibers' are obtained is very
extensive and nearly every country In
the world has its own particular fiber
plants. But the greatest part of the
world supply of fiber is supplied from
tropical and seini-tropical countries.
Many fiber plants will grow and do
well in this country, and some varieties
can be cultivated with almost certain
prospects of success; while others, for
the want of suitable machinery to pre-
pare them for market, offer no induce
ments for any one to engage in their
culture,
Ramie, without doubt the finest of all
the vegetable fibers. is still waiting the
inventive genius to produce the machine
that will clean the fiber cheaply enough
to enable the growers to obtain profit
by its cultivation.
Tempting rewards have been offered
by the British Government for such Il
machine, and late number of the
Planters Monthly states that the
Chinese Government has offered the
large sum OF 1925, 900 to the inventor OF
successful machine. The inventive
talent OF tire world has for years been
engaged on the problem, but up to the
Ramie grows luxuriantly on these
islands and will yield several crops per
annum, but until machine is invented
that will economically prepare the fiber
for market, it is useless for any person
to engage in its culture.
The agave sisal, or sisal hemp
plant, is admirably suited for industrial
culture in this country. Unlike the
ramie. which has a wide habitat and
will grow perhaps as well in California
as here, the agave sisal is a purely
tropical plant, and moreover will four
ish in the poorest of soils; in fact, it
will grow and flourish where nothing
else will grow,
In appearance it is not unlike the aloe
that grows wild in many parts of the
group. but it yields much better and
stronger fiber, which finds ready
market both in the United States and
in Europe. The writer has. during the
past year, imported for different per-
, sons over 10000 plants which have been
sent to all parts of the Islands. Reports
have come to hand that all the plants
are growing well and in the course Of
, time when the plants pole and produc,
thousands of young plants we may ex
= pect that plantations will be started an'
e the industry fairly inaugurated.
8 The sisal hemp is not an industry TO
o small farmers, l mean those who owl
/. or control from twenty to fifty acres
4 There are better uses for most of thu
[ homesteads and kuleanas which ar
n invariably situated on rich arabic land
<. The yield of fiber per acre from tn
p agave sisal is stated to be fror
A 400 to 1000 poun Is per acr
worth from four to five cents pc
n pound, and from all can gather it seem
q that plantation of less than 500 acre
l. would not justify the purchase of i'll
j. proved machinery. The larger I'll
10 planta,i n The IN re certain the ente
n prise lr wing profitable. Small farmir
n in the sense of Il number of sma
.s growers of say 100 acres each, an
p. delivering the leaves to be cleane
c. at central factory is quite possibl
e Improved machines that will produ'
is I'm 1200 to 1000 pounds of clean fib
per day can be procured at a cost
from $1,000 to $4,000.
The chief value on the agave sis
/, lies in the fact that ii Will put to prof
able use tens of thousands of acres
:. land that are utterly valueless for al
#. other purpose. 1t is true that the |
90 .urt.s from each acre is small compar
-, wi II other products on rich moist lane
:. uut me expenses OF cultivation is but
:. trifle and the outlay for buildings al
od machinery would only require mod,
ate sum. Without going into details
y. is quite safe to say that 1000 acres
no sisal would yield certain profit of
-, per acre for fifteen years without
is planting.
=, The drawbacks in the way of starti
on this industry is the cost of procuri
~, the plants, which have at present to
10 imported from Florida at a cost of abe
c;. $32 per 1000. $40 plants are required
ON an acre, and to plant 1000 acres wol
,,t require $40, 900 plants which would C,
he over SEQ 900.
wp When the plant is Z OF years
(provided the leaves are not cut
fiber) it sends up pole which rears fl
900 to $500 young plants; these
planted in a nursery and when six
eight inches high can be planted out
the field In three to three and II h
years from planting out the leaves
long enough to cut for fiber. Each pl
will then Yield 40 leaves each year
fifteen or twenty years. 1t is har
me probable that any one will impor
ioe' sufficient number of plants at one t
''i- TO start a plantation, but it would
~ wise course for any one owning
", in' controlling suitable land to i'm
'' IA, few thousands of the plants and
"iu them out. In the course of two y
'eao they will treble in numbers from
~ Young suckers that spring up arc
''h" tla naraut nlanf and In from ii