eful _not_ to bruise the stems, as this
would weaken the fibre and discolour it.

Another statement from British India shows that Manila hemp requires
a very special treatment. It runs thus:--

"The mode of extraction was the same as practised in the locality
with _Ambadi_ (brown hemp) and _sunn_ hemp, with the exception that
the stems were, in the first place, passed through a sugar-cane
mill which got rid of sap averaging 50 per cent. of the whole. The
stems were next rotted in water for 10 to 12 days, and afterwards
washed by hand and sun-dried. The out-turn of fibre was 1 3/4
lbs. per 100 lbs. of fresh stem, a percentage considerably higher
than the average shown in the Saidapet experiments; it was however
of bad colour and defective in strength."

If treated in the same manner in the Philippines, a similar bad result
would ensue; the pressure of mill rollers would discolour the fibre,
and the soaking with 48 per cent. of pulp, before being sun-dried,
would weaken it.

Dr. Ure, in his "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines," p. 1,
thus describes Manila Hemp:--

"A species of fibre obtained in the Philippine Islands in
abundance. Some authorities refer these fibres to the palm-tree
known as the _Abaca_ or _Anisa textilis_. There seem indeed to be
several well-known varieties of fibre included under this name,
some so fine that they are used in the most delicate and costly
textures, mixed with fibres of the pine-apple, forming _pina_
muslins and textures equal to the best muslins of Bengal. [135]

"Of the coarser fibres, mats, cordage and sail-cloth are
made. M. Duchesne states that the well-known fibrous manufactures
of Manila have led to the manufacture of the fibres themselves,
at Paris, into many articles of furniture and dress. Their
brilliancy and strength give remarkable fitness for bonnets,
tapestry, carpets, network, hammocks, etc. The only manufactured
articles exported from the Philippine Islands, enumerated by
Thomas de Comyn, Madrid, 1820 (translated by Walton), besides a
few tanned buffalo-hides and skins, are 8,000 to 12,000 pieces
of light sail-cloth and 200,000 lbs. of assorted _Abaca_ cordage."

Manila-hemp rope is very durable; it is equally applicable to
cables and to ships' standing and running rigging, but wanting in
flexibility. [136]

Hemp-growing, with ample capital, a