T The American cordage manufacturer is an importer; very little of the fiber entering into his product is grown at home. We have already seen how the principal cordage fiber—Manila—is brought from the Philippines. Fiber is also imported from Russia, from Italy, and from New Zealand, but we wish to speak now of the material which, next to Manila, is most used in hard-fiber cordage—Sisal—and which is secured from one of our nearer neighbors. This fiber is obtained from the leaves of a cactus-like plant belonging to the Agave family. While varieties of this plant grow in many parts of the world, it is cultivated most extensively in Mexico, the state of Yucatan being the chief center of production and Merida the capital of the state the principal market. Several railroads connect Merida with its seaport, Progreso, whence the fiber for export is shipped.

As Sisal more than any other fiber is used as a substitute for, or competitor of, Manila, we may make a brief comparison of the two.

The length of Manila fiber is usually from six to ten feet, while that of Sisal is only from two to four feet. The tensile strength of Sisal is not more than three-fourths that of Manila.

The color of Sisal is quite attractive, being a yellowish white, with sometimes a slight greenish tinge. Some fine lots of the fiber are very nearly white, but it all lacks the gloss and brilliancy which are characteristic of good quality Manila.

Manila is noted for its smoothness and pliability, which make it an ideal fiber for rope-making. Sisal, on the other hand, is without this flexibility, and is much more stiff and harsh. This accounts for the presence of the unpleasant “splinters” in a Sisal rope, and their appearance in so-called Manila rope is an indication of the use of Sisal as an adulterant. Sisal is also more easily injured by exposure to moisture and varying atmospheric conditions than Manila.

While some of these qualities work against the use of Sisal in rope for general purposes where the question of durability is a factor, or even when softness and ease of handling are considered, this fiber is not without uses which it admirably serves. When a rope or yarn is wanted for tying purposes, where it is used as a band and then discarded, Sisal can be used to advantage, as it is of sufficient strength and can be spun with a fair degree of smoothness. It may be readily treated with tar, which is an advantage when the material upon which it is used is to be stored out of doors.

Sisal is largely used by this company for making Lathyarn and tie ropes of various kinds used for bundling laths, shingles, lumber, kindling wood, cooperage stock, hides, leather, nursery stock, for tying grain and cement sacks, for baling cloth in textile mills and for similar purposes almost innumerable.

But the greatest use we make of this fiber and the use which has done much to place Sisal in its high position in the fiber family, and has helped to make the Mexican state of Yucatan wealthy in a comparatively few years, is in the making of binder twine. The advent and development of the self-binding reaper have opened a veritable gold mine for the Mexican Sisal growers, and a large proportion of the more than 300,000,000 pounds of Sisal annually imported to this country eventually finds its way to the wheat fields, not only of our own great West, but of all the world’s grain-raising countries.

A fiber so largely used can hardly help being a factor in the markets, and some account of its production should be of interest. This story we shall tell briefly, and largely by the use of pictures. These illustrations, to which we draw particular attention, are from photographic negatives in our possession which were taken in Yucatan expressly for us.

The Sisal or heniquen plant of Yucatan has been used for its fiber for many centuries, but, as we have stated, the present enormous development of the industry dates back but comparatively few years, during which time great progress has been made in putting it upon a highly practical basis as regards both the cultivation of the plant and the preparation of the fiber. Labor-saving machinery is used in place of the old hand methods for extracting the fiber; indeed, the business is now so thoroughly up to date that reports are frequently circulated of the organization or contemplated organization of a “Sisal trust.” Apparently, however, the right “Napoleon of Finance” has not yet come to the fore to accomplish this.

The cultivation of the heniquen is now carried on principally upon large farms or plantations known as haciendas, many of which have made their owners enormously wealthy. In starting a field of plants the suckers or hijos are set out in rows, and cultivation is carried on once or twice a year to keep down the weeds. The appearance of the fields of Sisal and of the growing and matured plants may be seen from our illustrations. When the plant has been growing about five years some of the long, sword-like leaves will be ready to cut, those around the base of the plant maturing first. The time for cutting is indicated by the leaves assuming a nearly horizontal position instead of the more upright one of the younger leaves, at which stage the fiber is at its best. Then the natives, with their corbas go through the fields and cut off the matured leaves, trim the sharp thorns from the sides and ends, and tie up the leaves in bundles of fifty, ready to be carried to the cleaning mill.

The plant continues to yield a supply of leaves for a period of from ten to twenty years. The end of its usefulness is marked by the appearance of the flower stalk or “pole,” and the plant soon dies.

Most of the large haciendas are supplied with portable tracks, and small cars carry the bundles of freshly cut leaves from the fields to the cleaner house, where the pulp is scraped from the fiber by the powerful cleaning machinery.

As will be seen in the photographs, the bundles of leaves are taken up on an elevator and along a carrier, which feeds them into the machine. The grip chains of the carrier hold the leaves, while the scraping wheels clean the pulp from the fiber, first one end of the leaves being cleaned and then, as they are carried farther along, the second wheel cleans the other end. This leaves the bundles of the fiber still in the grip of the carrier, which takes it out of the machine as shown in the picture. It is then carefully hung in the sun to dry. When thoroughly dry the fiber is taken to the press and made into bales weighing about 370 pounds each.

We have already mentioned the fact that Manila rope is frequently adulterated with cheaper and inferior fibers, and so Sisal in its turn has its inferior imitators, the most common of which is known as Istle, a fiber which also grows in Mexico as well as in other parts of the world. A recent government publication, speaking of the use of Istle in cordage, states, “this fiber has been regarded heretofore as suitable only for use in the manufacture of brushes.”