New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-18
>,,,v vop1- rpvn1-NE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT.
INTERIOR OF A ROPEWALh.
now MANILA HEMP is REDUCED ~
AMERICAN CORDAGE.
,,,,, MODERN WALK COMPARED WITH THE OLD
EXTENT OF THE INDUSTRY
VARIETIES OF HEMP.
VARIETIES OF HEMP.


facture of manila rope Is now matter y,
inheritance and the subject .s receiving IHuch
ottcn,ion The material from which the rope Id
made is hemp. but is known as manila IN INC
commercial world because II is nearly Hi
,hinned from the city OF that name the trees
from which the fibre Is taken grow IN groves
IN the uplands and similar to the panahn
trees but bear no fruit The trees are cut oo""
by the natives, close to the grouho anu 'ne
leaves peeled OF down to the bottom OF inc s''An
The mass Is scraped with kn'Ie anu 10
then hung up to dry The leaves OF tree vi"
mako about one pound OF fibre. and the aver
ayc native can cut and scrapc nearly '~ehe
n,rrde of fibre a day for which he receives
arsut IS cents With this he supports hii'ise"
and family.
When dry and ready for the market the hemP
Is carly white in color. has gloss IKE si'N' anu
even IN its raw state is tough and hard 10 oreah'
Tic hanks or lunches. are about ten rect ionb'
md these are packed in layers and maze up III
bales weighing about go pounds each Ihe
bales are packed in loosely woven mats "iu
fastened with rattan. and In that shape 'n'
manila is sent away to be converted ihlo i'''
mud twine OF all sizes and grades. In 1897 there
were shipped from Manila S2!,Wo bales OF Nv
hounds each or these 417e" came to the
the rest was consumed IN Continental Europe
THE PRODUCT OF sISAL HEMP
cleal hemp. which comes from Yucatan,
nlso enters largely into the manufacture OF
American cordage The whole product is con
rumed in the United States, and this amounted
10 10000 bales Of 375 pounds each n lN''
The plant from which this hemp Is obtained II
much like the century plant, and the fibre comes
hif.b
f. length and are SITTER and coarscr than the
u.ari,a leaves and less strong. This hemp Is
used together with manila. In making bhdlne
Irvine which is used on harvesting machines.
Its use reduces the cost, and the twin" Is sui-
tcl.ntly strong for the purpose for when IL ID
intended
"rh, average layman has No idea of the
amount Of harvester Irvine used in this coun-
tn sad an officer Of the Standard Rope ana
r Inc Company 1T takes about TWO pounds
of iwino to bind an acre OF grain The product
g. This one item In tie cordagc business amount
al last year to Sky thousand tons
Besides manila and sisal. one may see In the
stoehroous Of this concern In Brooklyn where
e.x hundred people are employed IL making
c,idagc If all sizes. black. or American hemp
g. bales weighing six hundred pounds, and
bales of fine Italian hemp, which IS used where
CURED All the bales are opened IL the assort-
ire-r.orn and the nbros are stralGhtcned and
assorted Then the hanks are "scutchcd." This
process is acc ,mplishod 10y means Of a machine
which resembles a great wooden disk. six feet
g. diam. ter on the face of which there are rows
Of long, sharp steel pins. The disk rcvolVes
ralidy and straightons the fibre, which Is held
aealust them like a blade on a grindstone. ~
this process ali dirt and tow is removed.
1T does not matter how good or how poor the
fire u.s. ii all takes the same course" said the
guide. who knew every process, "and the men
Will take as much pains with this coarse lot as
they do with the bale now being scutched.
from which thread viii be made which will run
sixteen hundred feet to the pound"
COMBING OUT THE FIBRE.
The fibre Is taken from the scutcher to the
'nack!ing" machine. Here II Is combed again
but in a different way 1t Is fed into large
frame about twenty feet long, over which two
endless chains covered with long steel pins pass
Tho first Of these chains runs slowly and feeds
tn fibre to the second. which runs much faster
Tho effect being to comb and straightcn out the
material and draw IL into continuous ribbons
which are called 'sliycrs." There are four OF
these machines The first is called the breaker
from which the silver comes four or five inches
wide. Ii is drawn down In the other machines
md when II leaves the last one and runs rapidly
through the final tube into the tubs which stand
ready 10 receive it the silver has been reduced
H. thi kn,ss to about one inch. All tins worn
Is preparatory to spinning, which Is done ~
tcvcral large rooms where great rows OF jennes
are operated 10y def women. There the silver
ar converted into yarn. and the bulky, soft mass
Of fibre leaves the noisy machines in the form OF