=Manila Hemp.=--Manila hemp is the name given to a fibre obtained from the leaves of a plant, _Musa textilis_, belonging to the banana family. The best fibres are from six to nine feet in length, of light amber color, and very strong. The leaves, torn into narrow strips by hand, are afterward scraped by hand until the fibre is free of pulp. The long and coarser fibres are made into rope; the shorter fibres are beaten and hetcheled in the same manner as flax, until fine enough to weave into mats, carpets, and fine cloth. The fibres that have served their usefulness as rope are pulped and manufactured into manila paper. Practically all the manila fibre of commerce--which is not hemp at all--is grown in the Philippine Islands, and since peace has prevailed, the growth and production is increasing. The crude fibre is prepared by hand, by Filipino or by Chinese labor. The manufacture of cordage and paper is done mainly in the United States and Great Britain. Fine hand-made textiles are made by a few Filipino natives, but most of the goods of this character are manufactured in France. Very fine fibre is sometimes used as an adulterant of silk. Great Britain and the United States are the chief purchasers. =Sisal Hemp.=--Sisal hemp, or henequen, is a stout, stringy fibre obtained from the thick leaves of several species of agave, to which the maguey and century-plant belong. The cultivated species, from which most of the commercial product is obtained, is the _Agave sisalina_, which much resembles the ordinary century-plant. The essential feature in the economic production of sisal hemp is machinery for separating the fibre from the pulp of the leaf. The fibre is whiter, cleaner, and lighter than jute; moreover, in strength it ranks next to the best quality of manila hemp. It is used mainly in the manufacture of grain-sacks, and the twine used on self-binding harvesters. Nearly all the fibre of commerce is grown in the Mexican state of Yucatan and consumed in the United States. The cultivation of this material has made Yucatan one of the most prosperous states of Mexico. =Jute.=--Jute is a fibre obtained from the inner bark of a tropical plant, _Corchorus olitorius_, belonging to the same order as the linden-tree. The plant is an annual, growing in various moist, tropical countries, but is extensively cultivated in India and parts of China for commercial purposes. The fibre is prepared for manufacture in much the same manner as hemp and flax. In India it is used mainly for the manufacture of a coarse textile known as gunny cloth, used as bale-wrappers, and sacks for coffee and rice. On the Pacific coast states it is used for wheat-sacks. Calcutta is the chief centre of manufacture, but jute-sacks are extensively manufactured by the Chinese in California and China.