MANILA HEMP. La mot, BISAYA ; Abaca, TAG. The Musa textilis plant, which yields this hemp, was introduced by Dr. Roxburgh into the Northern Circars, but it had been neglected and died out, and during the administration of Lord Harris, Colonel (now Sir George) Balfour obtained for Madras a fresh supply of its roots, and it is growing freely in the lVynad ; but Great Britain is . annually importing 18,000 tons of it from Manila, value nearly a million sterling, althbugh India, in two years' care, could supply all the demand. It is a native of the Philippine Islands, where there are several varieties known under different names. The Abaca brava, the wild abaca, is called by the Bicoles, agotai, but the fibres of the mountain abaca, only, serve for making ropes, which are called by them Agotag, Amoquid. The Sagig and Laquis of the Bisaya are other varieties. Rumphius states that the Malay name of the Laquis is Pissang utan, which means wild plantain. It is called in Amboyna Kula abbal ; in Ternate Fana ; and in Mindanao Coffo ; also the cloth made from it. The abaca is abundant in the volcanic region of the Philippine Islands from Lu5on to Mindanao, as also in the neighbouring islands as far south as the Moluccas. It therefore extends from the equator to lat. 20° N., and may probably be easily cultivated in Arakan, Assam, and the Northern Circars. • , Mr. -G. A. K. Honey, British Consul; Manila, reports that the plant thrives best in soil largely impregnated with decayed vegetable matter, the districts in which it is planted being to a great extent reclaimed forest lands. Hilly land is the most suitable, the plant yielding more aburidantly on such than on low-lying ground. The plants require a large amount of moisture, and the production is chiefly in the southern districts, where the rainfall is greater. The plants suffer severely during long periods of excessive heat and drought. The custom there, after cleaning the land thoroughly, is to plant small plants of about 3 feet high, leaving 'a space of from 2 to 3 yards between each, the young shoots spring up later round the parent stem filling up the inter vening spaces, the ground being thoroughly cleaned and freed from weeds at least twice a year. In a favourable soil, the first crop will be available in about two after planting, but will only be about one-third of the full production. In the
fourth year a full crop will be obtained. The plants must on no account be allowed to fruit, as they then become worthless. When matured, they are cut down about a foot from the ground ; and the labourer strips off layers from the trunk, which are cut into strips of about 3 inches wide, or, say, three strips to each layer. The strips are each drawn through between a blunt knife and a board, to remove the pulpy vegetable matter from the fibre, which is then spread in the sun to dry. So 'soon as it MS been thoroughly'dried, it is ready for the market. The appearance of the fibre depends entirely on the care bestowed in drying it, as, should it be exposed to rain or not thoroughly dried, it becomes discoloured or assumes a brownish tinge, and loses strength to some extent. The outside layer produces a reddish-coloured fibre, which is, however, quite sound, and is easily dis tinguishable from spoiled hemp. The cost of preparing and planting a quinon (10,000 square fathoms), and keeping it clean up to the time of the first crop, is estimated at $200 to $300, not including the original cost of the land, and after wards an annual outlay of about $60 would be required to keep the soil free from weeds, etc. The above-mentioned extent of land would pro duce 30 to 40 pikuls (140 lbs. English each), after the plantation is three years old. The labourers receive one-half of the result of their work, the other half going to the owners of the trees. The quantity cleaned by one man working steadily day by day averages about 12 lbs. When once planted, the trees send up shoot after shoot from the old roots, and a plantation will continue to give a good production for from 15 to 20 years, after which the soil becomes exhausted, and new land has to be planted. The total production of the fibre in the islands in 1882 was 325,600 bales, or 40,700 tons, which is just about the estimated total con sumption of the world.
The imports into Britain of hemp from Manila w ere — 1877, 332,304 cwt. £488,060 1881, 353,770 cwt. £651,186 1878, 421,160 „ 551,856 1882, 373,231 „ 830,033 1879, 337,687 „ 434,037 1883, 330,132 „ 747,031 1880, 407,431 „ 622,776In Britain it is used for the finer cordage, yachts' rigging, and clothes-lines.—Royle, Fib. P1.