The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-14
MANILA HEMP.
A Product OF the Philippines About whicf
Little is Known.

Manila hemp, called in Spanish abb
AGA, is grown successfully. in the Phil
ippine islands only, Attempts have
been made to grow the plant else
where, as, for example, in Saigon
China, and in British North Borneo;
but the results have not been satisfae-
tory. !
The plant from which the hemp Is
made belongs to the banana famlly
and resembles very much the ordinary
banana tree, its leaves, however, De
ing darker and shorter than the leaves
of that tree. The hemp plant tiourlsnes
best on billy lands and mountain SIDES,
where it can be we'll shaded by trees
of thick foliage. Although 1t requires
a considerable amount of moisture, 1t
does not do well in swampy lands.
The province of Albay, in the island
of Luzon, is the greatest hemp produc-
ing district in the archipelago; but the
finest quality of hemp comes from the
island of Leyte, which also nearly
equals Albay in amount Of output. Ihe
other hemp producing districts are:
Provinces of Camarines Sur, Camar-
ines Norte, and Tayabas, in Luzon is
land; the islands of Samar, Marindu-
que. Mindanao, Cebu and Negroes.
Four years from the time Of planting
the seed are needful before the plant
leaves are ready for the knife, but only
three years if shoots are set out. The
general custom among planters, now
ever, is to transplant six months old
suckers The shoots are set out in
squares, about six feet between each
shoot, and in starting a hemp planta-
ton in forest lands, the large forest
trees are left standing to shade the
young shoots After the first three or
four years of waiting, a hemp planta-
ton is usually a safe and profitable in
vestment, as the plants are seldom
damaged by typhOons because of the
protection furnished by the forest
trees: the plantations are generally on
high lands, and therefore suffer little
from the floods; l0custs do not attack
the leaves in the way that they dc
almost everything else green on the
island: fires cannot spread far among
the rank foliage; no costly machinery
is required on the plantations, and nc
ploughing is necessary, although care
full wedding is. required; the plants can
be harvested all the year around, as
they come to. maturity. The leaves
should be cut for the fibre. however
when the plant is Towering. nor should
the plant be allowedetO go to seed, fol
if allowed to bear fruit the fibre will be
weakened. The average weight of dry
fibre from one plant is about ten oun-
ces. and the yield from a well managed
plantation is 500 pounds Of dry fibre tc
the acre.
The method of making hemp is &
very primitive one. The leaves thai
shoot out from the trunk of the plant
after being detached, are separated into
strips five or six inches wide. and from
five to six and half feet long To sep.
arate the fibre from the pulp, these
strips or basis, as they are called. are
Drawn under a knife that is fastened
at one end by hinge to a wooden block
A cord and a treadle are attached &c
the other end of the knife. and the op-
orator. by working the treadle. can reg
ulate the pressure of-the knife upon the
bast.- q The edge Of the knife should b
smooth and keen. but too often 1t il
separated, as the work then Is eaatel