Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1907-07-19
AsAcA NEEDS GOOD SOIL.
Valuable Fiber Plant Which Fla.
fishes in Philippines.

Valuable Fiber Plant Which FI.
fishes i'm Philippines,
Tho Philippine islands have at mr..
ent monopoly of the production y
abaca, more commonly known as M.
Mia hemp, which is In many part,o.
lars the best vegetable fiber know
10 commerce, says the Manila Bu,iat,r
The provinces which produce this -,
liable commodity in considerable oror
tity are the most prosperous province.
In the islands. Unfortunately, however
the cultivation Of abaca cannot no !,
definitely extended. The plant mead.
for its satisfactory development a rlon
and well-drained soil and heavy rain.
fall, quite uniformly distributes,
throughout the year.
In many Of the provinces these I'm.
ditions do not exist, while In other.
like Mlndoro and Palawan, where solI
and climate are ideal, scarcity of l..
Dor renders the production OF abacs
upon large scale impractlcable.
Furthermore, abaca plants are serIo.
ously damaged, or even killed, BY lone.
continued drought and are likely II 4.
uprooted during severe typhoons. The
inhabitants Of Albay, Sorsogen ana
Northern Samar were brought to dire.
straits by the great typhoon of Sent
26, 1905, while most of the hemp-grow.
Ing provinces have suffered serlousv
within the past two or three year,
from drought.
AS conditions now stand manv
abaca-growing provinces have practical.
" no other resources than those derived
from this valuable plant, so that r.
the abaca crop during any year is =
failure laborers are left without work
and small growers find themselves IN
financial difficulty.
The fact is gradually dawning upon
the inhabitants of the Philippine il.
lands that the conditions above ont
lined may, to a large extent, be rem.
edied by the cultivation of maguey.
This valuable plant, from different va.
rietles Of which are derived CONNER.
cial fibers variously known as maguey.
hannequin and slsal, is a native of DIES.
1rt regions, and when once established
Is not injured by the severest droughts
ever experienced in the Philippine Is
lands the only effect Of such long-con.
tinued periods Of dry weather as oc.
cur here being to increase the per-
centage Of fiber which the leaves con-
tain.
Maguey has further advantage over
abaca in that it 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 Of growing cocoanut trees, but
the plants are 80 rarely attacked by
this insect that the damage caused 10
OF Insignificant Importance.
Another great advantage incident to
maguey culture is that 1t may be grown
upon soil so sandy and poor that It
Is absolutely worthless for the produc-
ton Of any other known valuable crop.
The plants grow well even in assures
IN bare limestone rock, and the ideal
maguey soil is a light loan composed
OF leaf mold and decomposed limestone.
II fragments Of undeeomposed lime
stone are present in abundance, 50
much the better. l have seen splendid
~ developed maguey plants growing In
pure beach sand on the coasts Of Min
doro and Tablas.
The cultivation of the soil before
planting it with maguey is not neces-
sary. 1t suf1ces to clear away the
brush and grass with the bolo, and aft
er planting to repeat this operation
two or three times a year.