the plantain (the tree being propagated by cuttings or suckers which shoot up from the bulb), should be set at ten feet distance from each other; this proposition gives 300 plants on one line of trees, or 900 on the surface of one quarree of land.  Each plant propagates itself and gives upon an average ten trees of the same size and bearing.  On one quarree of land, therefore there would be 9,000 trees, yielding four pounds of fibre and one bunch of fruit each, which is 9,000 bunches of fruit, and 36,000 lbs. nett of fibre, in the whole.  In good ground the same plant will last fifteen years without any further trouble.  Flat lands ought to be cultivated in preference to any other.  The plantain thrives with the root in the water, and the head to the sun.  On the borders of the river Orinoco it grows to the height of twenty feet, is one foot in diameter, and the stalks of the branches are three inches in circumference.

Cutting.—­The tree which has not produced its ripe fruit ought to be cut, for two reasons—­first, that the fruit be not lost; and secondly, that the tree will not have arrived at its full growth and ordinary size, and the fibres will be too tender.  In cutting it down, take it off six inches above the surface of the ground, then divide it longitudinally into four parts, take out the heart, which must be left to serve for manure, and if fermentation is decided upon, leave the pieces at the foot of the tree, otherwise take them to the mill to be crushed.  The tree being very tender, may, on being bent down, be cut asunder with a single stroke of a hatchet, cutlass, or other convenient instrument.  One man can cut down 800 trees, and split them in a day.

Carrying.—­The trees being thus divided, may be immediately carried to the mill to be crushed, or may remain until the fermentation separates the juice of sap from the fibres and the pith.  By fermenting the trees, their weight will be so much reduced as to render their carriage considerably lighter than if taken away when first cut down.  A wagon, with oxen or mules, can carry about a ton per day, and one man can load the wagon and drive the cattle.

Crushing.—­If the tree is carried from the plantation without being subjected to fermentation, it must be passed through a mill, the rollers of which, if made about three feet in length, and one foot in diameter, will be found a very convenient size.  In this operation, care should be taken, first of all, to separate the tender from the harder or riper layers of fibre.  The tree is composed of different layers of fibre, which may be divided into three sorts; those of the exterior, having been exposed to the atmosphere, possess a great degree of tenacity—­whilst those of the interior, having been secluded from the air, are much more soft and tender.  If, therefore, the layers of the plantain are passed indiscriminately through the mill, those which are hard or firm will