Chinese plans.—The seeds are sown in sandy soil, near water ; the ground is dug several times, and then watered in the evening ; on the following morning, it is loosened with a small rake, and levelled ; some seed is then mixed with moist earth, in the proportion of 1 pint of the former to 4/ pints of the latter ; the seed is then sown with the earth, and is left uncovered; 1 oz. of seed suffices for 6-7 beds measuring 1 ft. by 4 ft. So soon as the sowing is done, a light framework is erected, in a slanting position, 2-3 ft. above the ground, and is covered with a thin mat. As the weather grows hotter, this awning is supplemented by a thick layer of straw, otherwise the young plants would be destroyed. Moisture is supplied by sprinkling water upon the roof ; the latter is removed at night, in order that the plants may catch the dew. When the first leaves appear, weeding is begun ; the roof is laid aside when the plants are 1-2 in. high, and the earth is kept moist to a depth of about 3 in. The young plants are next transferred to a stiffer soil. The beds are watered on the evening preceding the removal, and the new beds are watered in the morning, for the reception of the plants. The removal is effected by a spade, care being taken to keep a ball of earth around the roots. The young plants are pricked out at 4 in. apart ; the ground is often hoed, and water is supplied at the end of 3,5,10,15, and 20 days. The roots afford new shoots, which, at the end of 4-5 years, will be so numerous as to require thinning. This may be done either by taking cuttings 2-3 in. long from the roots, or by bending the stems down to produce layers, the latter plan being the quicker. Immediately the stems are cut, the ground is watered with a mixture of equal quantities of water and liquid manure, pigs' dung being avoided. Watering must be done at night or in cloudy weather. Root cuttings are placed by twos and threes in little trenches, about 18 in. apart ; they are then surrounded with earth, and watered occasionally. In forming planta tions with shoots, the new plants are placed at about 18 in. apart. In either case, choice is made of stiff land that has been well worked in the autumn, and manned. The stems aro gathered for industrial purposes in the first year, when about 1 ft. high. In the tenth month of every year, before cutting the offsets, the ground is covered with a thick layer of horse or cow dung; in the second month, the manure is raked off, to allow the now shoots to come up freely. In the second year, the stems are again cut. At the end of three years, the roots are very strong, and send up many shoots. Cropping then takes place three times a year, the stems being cut when the suckers from the rootstock are about in, high. The first harvest is got in at about the beginning of the fifth month ; the second, in the middle of the sixth or beginning of the seventh mouth ; and the third, in the middle of the eighth or beginning of the ninth month. The stems of the second crop grow the fastest, and yield the best fibre. After the crop, the stocks are covered with manure, and immediately watered. A well-cared-for plantation lasts for 80-100 years.
In Assam.—Hero tho plant is sparingly cultivated by the fishermen, to provide fibre for their nets. It is propagated entirely by root divisions, planted in garden plots, and well manured with cow-dung and wood-ashes. It often yields 5 crops in a year, after planting, or six from April to April ; the first is cut in April, the second in June, the third in August, the fourth in November, the fifth in February, the sixth in April again, and so on. The most luxuriant crops are those of June and
August, they receiving the most moisture; the February crop yields the strongest fibre. Between the crops, the ground is opened up around the roots, by means of a long-bandled hoe. After tho November crop, cattle are generally admitted into the plots, and the plants are thus kept down till February, when the ground is carefully loosened, and the roots are heaped up with earth, and well manured. The points claiming special attention are the manuring, the provision of abundant shade, and protection from storms ; the last is often effected by walling-in the gardens with wattling. The common height of the plant ie 8 ft., giving fibre 6 ft. long.
In Java and Sumatra.—The experiments undertaken here by the Dutch Government mostly failed, on account of the injudicious selection of open rice fields, instead of the much more suitable coffee lands. The natives propagate the plant by root divisions, set out at 3-4 ft. apart ; the stems soon attain a height of 5-7 ft., and are cut when they have become brown for about 6 in. from the roots. Four crops aro usually cut in a year ; in the first year, the plants yield 4 sterns at the first crop, 6-8 at the second, 10-12 at the third, and 16-20 at the fourth; more are obtained in sub sequent years. The first crop is taken without waiting for the stems to ripen, as the fibre is so inferior as to be rejected.
Agricultural problems.—The principal points to be investigated, iu order to determine the beet methods of growing the plant on a oommercial scale, are as follows :—(1) Influences of irrigation and manuring; especially the effect of returning to the soil the waste portions of the plant. (2) The variation of the amount and quality of the fibre according to the season. (3) The comparative quality of the fibre of short stems (3 ft.) and that of full-grown stems (5-8 ft.). (4) The effect of the density of growth upon the thickness, straightness, and branehi nees of the stems, and upon the yield per acre, especially in connection with the prospect of a greater number of crops annually under the condition of limited height. (5) The best and cheapest methods of gathering, stripping, and sorting the stems. Experiments in France have proved the autumn crop to be much superior to that cut in summer. It seems to be an established fact that, for very fine purposes, the plant should he cut at 3-4 ft.; hence arises the question whether closer cropping, or enhanced value, will compensate for the diminished product. The proportion of waste will certainly be less in the shorter stems. The sorting of the stems is very necessary, as, from the variable nature of the plant, independently of external causes, the qualities, and therefore the applications, of several portions of the produce of the same plantation, may vary widely. The out-turn of clean marketable fibre per acre is variously estimated. One grower did not succeed in producing more than 720 lb. of green stems, yielding 45 lb. of fibre, or, reckoning 3 crops annually, 135 lb. From some experimental crops in the United States, 3 yearly harvests, of 700-800 lb. of clean fibre each, are anticipated. The safest official data from India, however, give 5200 lb. of green stems, yielding 208-312 lb. of clean fibre, or an average of 250 lb.; with 3 annual harvests, this would give 750 lb. an acre, with 4 harvests, 1000 lb.
Extraction and Preparation of the Fibre.—Before proceeding to a description of the various machines which have been designed for this purpose, the native methods deserve a brief notice.