Re: Agaves (was bamboo)
"Richard F. Dufresne" wrote:
> Moira:
>
> Having some Agaves in pots myself, I can understand why the dead beast
> hasn't been moved. When I biannually clean out the weeds and the looser of
> the dead leaves, I wear gloves (and probably should have on safety goggles).
> The spines on the ends of the leaves are vicious, and it's easy to see
> someone putting out an eye handling the pots. The claws on the leaf edges
> are also nasty, and, even dead and dry, the fibers in the leaves are tough,
> which is why this genus and its relatives were sources of cordage for native
> Indian tribes.
>
Richard
During my childhood in Africa back in the thirties, synthetic materials
for string making were of course unknown and sisal was one of the main
fibres used.
On the dry plains northeast of the farming district around Nairobi there
were at that time extensive commercial Agave plantations producing and
processing this fibre. As I remember a fair proportion of the leaves
were harvested each year by hand cutting with sharp knives (it must have
been an awful job) and then retted to extract the fibre.
We occasionally around Christmas time (South of the Equator this was)
drove past these plantations on our way to a favourite picnic spot and I
remember the rows and rows of blue-grey clumps standing in the dry
yellow summer grass, but most of all I recall those which had finished
their useful life and remained just as stark poles. I have no
recollection of whether they would replant on the same site, or whether
they simply put the next lot of plants into a new area. As they were
bordering on the limitless Africa plains I should think the later, which
would have taken a lot less work than extracting the old plants.
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
