The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-03-23

Ihabftants of Yucatan, and the agave
that produces it is to be seen only as
an exotic in the gardens and parks
It's place is taken by another member
CT the family, whose Importance is
more far reaching. The Agave sisal-
e..sis furnishes a fibre that not only
helps to knit firmer the commerce OF
the whole world, but binds the sheayes
of wheat so that the price of bread in
every land is made cheaper for its use
ITO the casual observer a field OF
the pulque plant and one of the fibre
plant are very similar in appearance.
Beth show the same peculiar green,
the same many-thorned leaves; In
vestigation, however, soon shows the
difference.
There are three known varieties of
the species growing wild in the for
ests OF Yucatan-the cheiem, the ca
hum, and the citamci-and 1 think
that / have found fourth wild vari-
ETY. during my explorations in the in
terror. There are also two varieties
of the cultivated piant-the yaxci, or
green fibre, and the sacci, or white
fibre. The last-named plant is the
most cultivated and the one producing
the sisal hemp of commerce.
'The primeval inhabitants probably
did not at first attempt to extract the
fibre from the thick pulp. but took the
leaf and wilted it in the fire, then split
it, and used the splits as thongs. The
leaves so treated make thongs OF
great strength, and as they dry they
bind with wonderful force. In the
primitive forms of habitation in the
region, the mud and waffle mas" are
bound together by these shreds of
fibre-wilted leaves. They are shapely,
water-tight, and durable, and the ma
tive builders only tool is a heavy,
sharp-edged knife. Not spike or nail
or metal of any kind enters into the
building.
Later the people found that if Trey
cleaned off the thick pulp and the
green corrosive juice they could get
a firmer hold and so bind tighter. |
Then they learned to twist the shreis,
and this idea led to the making of
ropes and cords
The wild agave, known as the
chelem, is, 1 believe, the progenitor OF
the cultivated sacci The fibre is of
good quality, but scant in quantity.
The fibre of the cahum is long and
silky, but even scantier in quantity
than that Of the chelem, and it is said
TO be brittle
Attention was turned toward the
fibre concealed in the leaf Of the hene-
lren, and in 1889 a kind of association
was formed to make the experiment.
Il producing the coarser fiber "sacci"
on commercial basis. It was known
hat the spiny-edged agave called sacci !
produced fibre coarser than that of |
he yaxci. but much more abundant, |
Ind consequently more profitable to {
weight and not by quality. The fibre y
vas cleaned by native instruments. 8
Ird, packed in loose bales of about ]
100 pounds each, was sent to New (
fcrk. 1t found a market, but the c
,rlce was such that there was but
cant gain for the seller. The methods i
Il cleaning the fibre were so slow that S
ven with the small wages of the day.
he cost per pound to the planter was n
The State government, I
eccgnIzing the great need of a suit Q
hle machine to clean the fibre, offer
4 n orraA,,ft.. 80 e10 nOn lEo..;oo- e., t1,o =
erson inventing an apparatus capa- b
lie Of producing stated output Ter t
our. This finally resulted in the n
the device of a Franciscan t
Iiar, which was used for many years.
'cday, half a dozen machines are in q
ne market. some of them marvels of W
esign and potency. p
"a thin, rocky, limestone soil is |.
eneraily supposed to be the best for !,
be growth of the sacci plant Exper- n
'nce indicates that the fibre grown iC
pom this class of soil has percen- p
lgc Of tensile strength greater than
lnt produced on the richer lands,
Tough the last is more flexible and is
niger. The percentage of safety
flowed by the cordage makers s III
, high that 1 doubt If the diminished
'nsile strength of the rich-Iand hemp
ould seriously affect the quality of
lie output Contrary to the general
Ca, poor sandy soil is not congen-
/ 20 the growth of large, full-sized
ere plant. Few if any good-sized,
eli-formed plants grow very near the Il!
'ast line. The best Yucatan fibre
ant seems to be produced in a zone
belt following the coast. about II
lies away from it and 20 miles wide.