Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-06-30

Copyrighted. 1900. by Frank C. cop'er-

corvrirhted. 1900, by Frank C. capter-
ter.
payao. May 1.-THE Philippine
islands could furnish galIows enough 70
hanp the whole human race lhelr
chIef product is hemp and they sen
anon, eighteen million silver dollars
worth of It every year You see hemp
snread out to dry in the streets oil 'he
nrinelpal towns. It is carried IN Iroln
tho country on buffalo carts or on the
nacrs NJ the men, and many a petty
Chinese merchant has made his fortune
nv dealing In It. We pay every year
seyorai million dollars Tor the Manila
heun which we use. It is sent to New
work. Boston and other cities, and there
made into all kinds Of rope from
clothes lines to cables A vast deai oil
n goes TO the Northwest 90 make oli'G.
inc Irvine for harvesting some VI ~
n employed in OUT gold, silver ana iloli
mines and the finer qualities are HilAyu
with silk and used in weaving IL -
,,ads INTO hammOcks. IL is used LOT
nets and In Paris 1t goes into mahlhB
~ hats tapestry and carpets. FROM
The waste ana old ropes Manila wrap
nIng paper IS made and here IN the
phlI,ppines the finest Of the iloer mixed
wi,b Inc threads OF the pineapple ~
woven into an exquisite stun known
IT,, ciotb which the American la
dies buy for party dresses ana Whlcu
h commonly used by the richer OF our
Filipino sisters 49,
There are thousands Of men In these
islands who live of the hemp Industry,
and there are merchants here VINO nave
made fortunes out Of shipping the prod
not abroad. Some OF the best oppoI-
tnnities for fortune making In lhe
phllippines are In planting and raising
beup and In the future there VIII pe
many Americans engaged IN the uli-
ferent branches OF the industry.
WHERE THE HEMP COMES FROM.
I find that the hemp plant grows in
nearly every one Of the Philippine ISL
ands. There are provinces in Luzoh
which are supported almost entirely py
n and the islands Of Leyte and samaf
raise thousands OF bales OF Il every
year. When the ports OF the eastern
mart OF the Philippines were opened up
about a hundred thousand bales were
found there ready for shipment and TO-
day there are steamers loaded win
them going out from the Philippines.
The province Of Albay, which is IN the
southeastern part OF Luzon is one OF
the best hemp districts, yielding more
thar six million pounds Of the stun an.
nually. A great deal OF II Is produced
In Cebu. and a limited quantity on TINS
island of Mindanao. Some OF the hnest
hemp grown comes from here, anu
there are thousands OF acres. l might
also say millions OF acres, which coulu
be turned 10 hemp raising
From inquiries which l have made
from people interested In the subject
the available territory has hardly been
touched, and the product might be MADE
ten times as large as il Is. SO far the
Philippine Islands are the only places
in the world where the hemp plant has
been successfully grown. Attempts
have been made 10 raise Il IN India and
elsewhere, but so far none has succeed
ed.
VISIT TO A HEMP PLANTATION
spent this morning going through
one OF the largest Of the hemp planta-
lions Of Mlndanao II you have ever
seen banana grove you can imagine
how the plantation looks, The hemT
plant or abaca, as II Is here called, Is
the Musa Textllls. a species OF the samt
family as the edible banana, whose bo'
tanical name r. the Musa Paradisalca
A hemp tree looks just like a banana
tree. II IS more OF n plant than a tree
sproutlng up from the ground 10
heigh. OF from twenty TO twenty-five
feet. composed Of many leaves wrapped
round and round about a central stalk
which, when the plant Is full grown
towers high In the air above you. Thu
outer leaves are each foot wide an,
ten feet or more long AS they grow
upward they branch out from the stalk
shading the ground The hemp comes
from the inner leaves, which are tightly