e island
is Manila hemp. The French, who, however, hardly use it, call it
"Silk-Plant," because of its silky appearance.

The natives call the fiber bandala, and in commerce (generally
speaking) abaca, just as the plant from which it is obtained.

[Abaca.] The latter is a wild species of banana growing in the
Philippine Islands, known also as Arbol de Canamo (hemp-tree), Musa
textilis, Lin. It does not differ in appearance to any great extent
from the edible banana (Musa paradisiaca), one of the most important
plants of the torrid zone, and familiar to us as being one of our
most beautiful hot-house favorites.

[Undetermined plant relations.] Whether this and the "musae"
(M. troglodytarum, M. sylvestris, and others), frequently known,
too, as M. textilis, are of the same species, has not yet been
determined. The species Musaceae are herbaceous plants only. The
outer stem consists of crescent-shaped petioles crossing one another
alternately, and encircling the thin main stem. These petioles contain
a quantity of bast fiber, which is used as string, but otherwise is
of no commercial value. The serviceable hemp fiber has, up to the
present time, been exclusively obtained from the southern portion of
the Philippines.

[Abaca districts.] The southern Camarines and Albay are favorably
adapted for the cultivation of this plant, as are also the islands
of Samar and Leyte, and the adjacent islands; and Cebu likewise,
although a portion of the so-called "Cebu hemp" comes from Mindanao. In
Negros the bast-banana thrives only in the south, not in the north;
and Iloilo, which produces most of the hemp cloth (guinara), is
obliged to import the raw material from the eastern district, as it
does not flourish in the island of Panay. In Capiz, it is true, some
abaca may be noticed growing, but it is of trifling value. Hitherto
all attempts, strenuous though the efforts were, to acclimatize the
growth of hemp in the western and northern provinces have failed. The
plants rarely grow as high as two feet, and the trouble and expense
are simply unremunerative. This failure may be accounted for by the
extreme dryness prevailing during many months of the year, whereas
in the eastern provinces plentiful showers fall the whole year round.

[Peculiar to the Philippines.] The great profit which the Manila
hemp has yielded in the few years since its production, however, has
given encouragement to still further experiments; so that, indeed,
it