Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1907-02-23
AsAcA NEEDS GOOD SOIL.
'"in"ble Fiber Plant which Flou~
tsheS In phiIipolnpa

'0F rant W htch Flour
tshes In Philippines.
The Philippine islands have at pren
ent monopoly Of the production Of
abaca, more commonly known M Me-.
Mia hemp, which il in many nar.ic7n.
lars the best vegetable aber known
TO commerce, says the Manila Bulletin.
Inc provinces which produce this val.
uaple commodity In considerable ouan-
tlty are the most prosperous proyIncas
IN the Islands. Unfortunately, hoyever.
the cultivation of abaca cannot Ina 4,
denhltely extended. The plant moab
Tor Its satisfactory development rich
ana well-drained soil and heavy rain
ialI' quite uniformly Distributed
throughout the year.
In many Of the provinces these cor-
ditions do not exist, while in otherx
like Mindoro and Palawan. where soil
ana climate are ideal, scarcity OF Ia
Dor renders the production OF abacn
upon large scale impractlcable
Furthermore, abaca plants are sario-
ouSIy damaged, or even killed, by long
continued drought and are likely to %
uprooted during severe typhoons. Ths
inhabitants Of Albay, Sorsogen and
Northern Samar were brought to dire
straits by the great typhoon OF Sent
~ 1905, while most of the hemp grow
Ing provinces have suffered seriously
within the past two or three wears
from drought.
As conditions now stand many
aoaca-growing provinces have practical
" no other resources than those derived
from this valuable plant SO that IL
the abaca crop during any year Is a
failure labOrers are left without work
and small growers find themselves in
financial difficulty.
The fact Is gradually dawnng upon
the inhabitants of the Philippine La.
lands that the conditions above out.
lined may, to large extent, be rem
edied by the cultivation Of maguey.
This valuable plant, from different va
rleties of which are derived CONNER
cial fbers variousIY known aS msguey.
hannequin and siSal, is nativo ar des-
ert regions and when once cyt. lished
IS not injured BY the seyerest 1roughtH
ever experienced In the Philippine is-
lands, the only effect of such long con-
lnued periods of dry weather as oc-
cur here being to Increase the per-
centage Of fiber which the leaves COD.
tain.
Maguey has a further advantage over
abaca In that II cannot be blown down
or uprooted by violent winds. 1t has
no known Insect enemies of Importance.
In very exceptional instances plants
may be observed with some Of their
leaves perforated by the great beetle
which so often attacks the trunks and
leaves or growing cocoauut trees, but
the plants are so rarely attacked by
this insect that the damage caused IN
of insignificant Importance.
Another great advantage Incident tn
maguey culture Is that it may be grown
upon soil so sandy and poor that it
Is absolutely worthless for the produc-
ton Of any other known valuable cron
The plants grow well even In assures
| In bare limestone rock, and the Ideal
maguey soil is light loan composed
OF leaf mold and dccomposed limestone
II fragments Of undecomposed lime
stone are present In abundance, 50
much the better. have seen splendid
y developed maguey plants growing In
pure beach sand on the coasts of Min
doro and Tablas
The cultivation Of the soil beforv
planting 1t with maguey Is not neces-
| sary. 1t suffices to clear away tina
brush and grass with the bolo, and eft.
er planting to repeat this operation
two or three times a year.