599
My informant, however, concurs with me in thinking that this estimate is not reliable and that 200 to 1,000 pounds would be suffered under the aura. There is still another machine being perfected at Boston which it is expected will give even larger results. This machine has not yet been tested. It is, however, the invention of a practical mechanic who has studied the fibre manufacturer Vis-à-Vis in Mexico and has seen all the machines in use there at work, so I have every reason to hope therefore that before the owners of fibre plantations in the British West Indies are in a position to commence operations on a large scale, a machine greatly superior to any now in use will be available.
We in Trinidad should not adopt to any appreciable extent the cultivation of fibre-giving plants until we wait for the solution of this interesting problem by the energetic manager of the Monroe Company in the Barbados, in the full assurance that the necessities of the trade will be satisfied, and the desire of Messrs. Hart and Tomlinson be fully realized at no distant date.
New Edg...