JAMAICA FIBBES.—NO.
Haversteek Hill, 27th August 1856. In the last number of the Edinburgh .13eview, there is an article on the subject of "Indian Substitutes for Russian Produce," in which it is stated, that the Manilla hemp NJ the produce of a banana, the muse textilis the rigging of many vessels, and especially of American build, has been made from it, and it has the advantage of being convertible into an excellent kind of paper when worn out. The plant is a native of the Philippine Islands, and is extensively cultivated. The inner layers are often very fine, and, woven into cloth, form the universal wearing apparel of the country. Some of the cloth is so fine that a garment made of it "may be enclosed in the hollow of the band:" The common plantain, musa sapientum, which bears fruit, is much grown in India, and universally in Jamaica, Trinidad, Domi- nica, and British Guiana. Some Demerara contributors to the Great Exhi- bition stated that "nine or ten pounds a ton would be a remunerative price." It has been sent to England in so rough a state and in such small quantities hitherto, that no accurate estimate can be formed of its value here; but some has been made into cordage and excellent paper. It is much stronger than jute, and is not, as jute is, liable to speedy decay when exposed to strong heat or kept in water. Of its value for the fruit Humboldt thus writes—" It is to be doubted whether there is another plant in the world which in seaman &space of ground produces such a mass of nourishing substance. In eight or nine months after the sucker is planted the banana begins to show, its flowering stem, and the fruit may be gathered in the tenth. or eleventh month. When the etalk is cut down, one among the many shoots is always found which is about two-thirds as high as the parent plant, and will bear fruit three months later. Thus a banana ground is kept up without any further trouble than that of cutting down the stem of which the fruit has ripened, and stirring-the ground a little, once or twice a year, about the roots. In one year, a hundred square metres, containing thirty or forty banana plants, gives upwards of 2000 kilogrammes or 4000 pounds weight of nourishing substance. What a difference between this produce and the grain that is yielded by the most fertile parts of Europe ! Calculations prove that the amount of nourishing substances from a banana ground is as 133 to 1 when compared to wheat in the same space, and as 44 to 1 of potatoes. It would be difficult to describe the various processes by which the South Americans and West Indians prepare this fruit. I have often seen the natives after a day of great fatigue make their dinber on a very small quantity of manioc, and three bananas of the larger kind." The larger kind is from the plantain, and is generally out down for fruit when full but not ripe, and is commonly peeled, roasted in the wood-ashes on the hearth, and eaten as a vegetable instead of bread; not only by the Negro but also the European popula- tion : mikh-cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry, are very fond of it, and may be fattened with it and a little maize. No wonder that a plant thus productive and nutritious should have been almost universally cultivated by the free Negroes for sale in the markets, as well as consumption by their families. The tree, however, has been thus far of little use, and has seldom been removed from the ground. It is the fibre which we now desire to bring into general use for cordage, linens, and paper, as a substitute for Russian hemp and flax, and an addition to the supply of rags for pulp. The freight from Jamaica to London or Liverpool ought not to-exceed four pounds a ton. It should, when freed from vegetable matter and gum, be perfectly dried and pressed, and sent home in ships that arenot laden with sugar and molasses, the steam from which deteriorates the colour and value. The mode of preparation for market may be thus described. The fruit and leaves being chopped off with a cutlas, the tree should be cut into lengths of three or four feet, for the convenience of „carriage. 'When brought to the dwelling-house or shed, it should be cut right down the middle into four Auld parts, and placed in a tub or trough filled with clean water. After piteing it through a pair of wooden (not iron) rollers, to press out the sap and loosen the cross fibres and gummy matter, a ohild may 'scrape away the latter by means of a small machine; the cost.of which need not exceed (Is. to 88. ; and as many of them may be provided arthere are children to use them, or plantain-tteee requir- ing to be operated upon. The fibre should then be thrown into ,dlean water, rineed, and wrung out ; in fact, made as clean from-plapy matter as possible, and dried. On every estate or village one persen of More may receive the fibre in this state from the Negro, and pay for Wit per pound. He will find it necessary to provide himself with a copper, or what will be better, a wash- Mg-machine and some soda or wood-ashes, and may employ washerwomen in proportion to the quantity he may collect, to boil, cleanse, and dry the fibre, keeping the long and short fibres separate, as the latter is only adapted for paper. When thoroughly dried in the sun, it may be sent to a merchant at the nearest shipping-port; who will be authorized by merchants in Lou- den to receive, pay for, and ship it. These merchants will, in the first hi- stance, have it manufactured into various articles suitable for use in the Wed Indies Such as (has for trousers, towellings, thread-glisves, seines' for &hie& cordage, aid paper : thus proving to the West Indians- the value' ape importance to their own comfort and welldoing of the methods thus suggested of putting it atep-40 that .waste of the means and opportunities Presented to them in a state of freedom, which is one main cause of their pre- sent unprosperous condition. The Spanish dagger, silk and snake grass, and Pfigirhi; may be treated- much in the same way;' and the simple process thus recommended may be adopted on every estate, or applied in every vil- lage or congregational school as a means of rendering the young both indus- trial and self-supporting. The movement ought to begin with the West Indian proprietors ; each of whom may at an expense not exceeding from 30/. to 601, set an example ea his own estate, which the Governors and legislators may encourage by annual meetings, and prizes to those who produce the largest quantity of the best material, at the least expense. The writer of this paper, who lived formany years in the West Inches, is willing to furnish information, the reault-uf many experiments- and diligent inquiries and observation to any 1141PrOPrietOr who may take the trouble to write to him, (enclosing a postage- itsfiv,)-as "B, to the care of Mr. Webster, 46 Lime Street, London." -FRIEND TO THE WEST INDU. *COLONISTS.
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