Progress with Long Vegetable Fibers

Excerpts: Most of the long, hard vegetable fibers, such as henequen, sisal, and abaca, come from tropical lands, where climate favors their growth, cheap labor is plentiful, and cultural problems are simple. Other long vegetable fibers, like jute, flax, and hemp, are produced in the temperate zones, but mostly outside the United States. These fibers are the raw materials of rope, binder twine, burlap, and related products. Despite the importance of these products in peace and war, and despite its varied climate, fertile soils, and great capacity for agricultural production, the United States has never attempted to produce any of them in quantities equal to its needs. India has supplied jute for burlap, bagging, carpets, and similar products. From Mexico, Cuba, and Africa we get henequen and sisal for binder twine, wrapping twine, and other cordage products. Nearly all of the abaca used for the better grades of rope and cordage is imported from the Philippines. The research program under way aims to seek out the useful fibers suitable for production in this country, to develop equipment for producing them, and to determine the feasibility of establishing new industries to handle and process them.