Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1899 — Manila Hemp Not Hemp at All. [ARTICLE]

Manila Hemp Not Hemp at All.

One of the most valuable products of •ur new possessions, the Philippine Islands, is what is called Manila hemp, which is not hemp at all, but is obtained from a plant belonging to the plantain family. Trees of three years’ growth yield only about two-thirds of a pound of fibre each; a bale of 270 pounds, therefore, represents the three years’ production of about 400 trees. The Deering twine mills at Chicago consume an immense amount of this fibre, manufacturing one-third of all the binder twine used In America. **