The story of rope

by Plymouth Cordage Company

Part II

CHAPTER I
Manila Fiber

In any manufacturing enterprise the question of raw materials is one of the highest importance. No manufacturer can become extensively successful without an intimate knowledge of the material entering into his product. He must be an expert judge of its quality to be able to determine for himself the exact value of what is offered him and its adaptability for his particular purposes; he must be closely in touch with all the markets; he must know all the conditions surrounding the production and marketing of the material; he must be fully posted as to all causes, natural and speculative, affecting the supply or the demand.

To be most valuable, this knowledge must not only cover matters affecting the present, but must forecast the future with the greatest possible degree of certainty. Such foresight is particularly valuable in the cordage business, where material must be provided for many months before it is used. This factor has always been conspicuous in the management of the Plymouth Cordage Company, and has contributed not a little to its continued and increasing growth and prosperity.

HANK OF MANILA 12 FEET LONG

For the rope-maker the raw material par excellence is the so-called “Manila hemp.” Strictly speaking this is not a hemp at all, being a fiber obtained from the wild banana plant of the Philippine Islands. The botanists tell us to call this plant Musa Textilis, but the Filipino, who ought to know, calls both the plant and its fiber “Abacá.”

The Philippines have a monopoly of this very important plant, as it has never been successfully cultivated elsewhere. So it will be seen at the start that the user of Manila hemp is dependent entirely upon our foreign possessions in the far East for his supply. Like most monopolists, the Filipino is not particularly susceptible to the wishes of his customers, and the procuring of hemp produced and prepared in the way to make it most valuable for rope-making is attended with some difficulty.

The Abacá is cultivated by setting out shoots of the plant after a suitable tract of land has been cleared. When the field has had proper cultivation for a period of two or three years some of the plants will be ready to cut. They will then be tree-like in shape, and from fifteen to twenty-five feet in height. The stalk, some fifteen feet long, and a foot or more in diameter, is composed of the separate leaf stems growing compactly together in overlapping layers.

The fiber is contained in the outer bark of these leaf stems, their inner portions being of a soft, pulpy nature. After the stalk is cut the native peels off strips of this fibrous bark, and after stripping the outer layer of stems, scrapes off its remaining pulp and proceeds to strip the next inner layer. This process is kept up through all the successive layers. The fiber from the inner layers of stems is finer and whiter than that from the outside.

PHILIPPINE HEMP CART

The fibrous strips are then cleaned by drawing them under a knife hinged over a block of wood. This scraping frees the fibers from the surrounding pulp. The quality of the hemp depends very much upon the thoroughness with which this cleaning is done. By using a smooth-edged knife and putting considerable pressure upon it during the operation, a fiber is secured of high strength and good color. However, this means strenuous work on the part of the operator, and our brown fellow-citizen, like many of his white brethren, is averse to tiring his back; consequently the bulk of the fiber put upon the market is cleaned under knives with rough edges and loosely held against the material. This makes the workman’s task easier and enables him to turn out a larger product, but of an inferior quality. Hence one of the worries of the manufacturer of high-grade cordage.

“STRENUOUS WORK”

This, briefly, is the way Manila hemp is extracted from its parent stalk. A fortune awaits anyone who will perfect machinery capable of superseding these antiquated hand methods.

After scraping, the fiber is hung over bamboo poles to dry. When thoroughly dried, it is tied up in hanks and carried to market. In the warehouse of the exporter the fiber is sorted and graded and then packed in bales of 275 pounds. In this form it eventually reaches the cordage factory.

With this description, let us sum up some of the elements entering into the quality of various parcels of hemp, which will be of interest as showing the task imposed upon the manufacturer in selecting the quality of fiber necessary to furnish rope of the required standard. It must be strongly impressed upon the mind that the fact that a certain rope may be honestly called “Manila” is no proof of its strength, durability or general value.

COLLECTING THE STALKS

STRIPPING AND SCRAPING

DRYING—TYING IN HANKS

FILIPINOS PREPARING MANILA FIBER

In the first place, there are some fourteen varieties of the Musa Textilis, presenting a like range in the quality of fiber produced. Then each process of gathering and preparation presents opportunities for deterioration: the plant must be cut at just the right time, and if, after cutting, the stalk is allowed to remain too long before it is stripped, the fiber is injured. We have already seen that quality is largely dependent upon the character of the knife used in cleaning and the care given to this operation. Likewise, for best results, the fiber must have proper care while drying.

As all these operations are in the hands of people not noted for industry or carefulness, it will be easily understood that the resulting output contains but a small percentage of really first-class material.

To get an idea of the wide range in quality of Manila hemp, we have but to refer to any broker’s list of offerings, which will show prices varying from six to thirteen cents, or in similar proportion.

EXAMINING MANILA FIBER AT DOCK

For a number of years past prices of Manila hemp have ruled much higher than previously.

This great increase in price has placed the rope manufacturer in a difficult position. He must either use a poorer grade of material in his goods or must raise his prices to a point which, to his customers, may seem excessive.

The reluctance on the part of manufacturers to accept the latter alternative has led to the use of low-grade Manila, and to mixing Manila with inferior fibers (Sisal, New Zealand, etc.), to a greater extent than at any other period in the history of the industry.

The Plymouth Cordage Company, however, has steadily held the opposing position, and has continually been on the alert to secure the grade of hemp necessary to maintain its long-established standard of quality. Not a particle of any other fiber has entered into our Manila rope.

This is because of our knowledge that a high-grade rope can be produced, with the proper facilities, to sell at a price relatively lower than one made from cheaper materials. This, of course, because the advantages of lightness, strength and durability more than outweigh the difference in price per pound. This is true from a strictly dollars-and-cents standpoint, to say nothing of the greater satisfaction in using the better article.

“SUBURB OF MANILA”

ABACÁ GROWING

The making of cheap Manila (or so-called Manila) rope has been carried to such an extent that recently signs of a reaction have been apparent. Writers in trade journals are protesting against the lengths to which the cheapening of rope is being carried; buyers are learning that quality and economy are close companions in the rope trade; and so the correctness of our position is being more fully demonstrated every day.

PHILIPPINE STREET SCENE

CHAPTER II
Sisal Fiber

The American cordage manufacturer is an importer; very little of the fiber entering into his product is grown at home. We have already seen how the principal cordage fiber—Manila—is brought from the Philippines. Fiber is also imported from Russia, from Italy, and from New Zealand, but we wish to speak now of the material which, next to Manila, is most used in hard-fiber cordage—Sisal—and which is secured from one of our nearer neighbors. This fiber is obtained from the leaves of a cactus-like plant belonging to the Agave family. While varieties of this plant grow in many parts of the world, it is cultivated most extensively in Mexico, the state of Yucatan being the chief center of production and Merida the capital of the state the principal market. Several railroads connect Merida with its seaport, Progreso, whence the fiber for export is shipped.

As Sisal more than any other fiber is used as a substitute for, or competitor of, Manila, we may make a brief comparison of the two.

The length of Manila fiber is usually from six to ten feet, while that of Sisal is only from two to four feet. The tensile strength of Sisal is not more than three-fourths that of Manila.

FIELD OF SISAL PLANTS

CUTTING LEAVES

TRIMMING OFF THORNS

The color of Sisal is quite attractive, being a yellowish white, with sometimes a slight greenish tinge. Some fine lots of the fiber are very nearly white, but it all lacks the gloss and brilliancy which are characteristic of good quality Manila.

Manila is noted for its smoothness and pliability, which make it an ideal fiber for rope-making. Sisal, on the other hand, is without this flexibility, and is much more stiff and harsh. This accounts for the presence of the unpleasant “splinters” in a Sisal rope, and their appearance in so-called Manila rope is an indication of the use of Sisal as an adulterant. Sisal is also more easily injured by exposure to moisture and varying atmospheric conditions than Manila.

LOADING LEAVES ON CAR

While some of these qualities work against the use of Sisal in rope for general purposes where the question of durability is a factor, or even when softness and ease of handling are considered, this fiber is not without uses which it admirably serves. When a rope or yarn is wanted for tying purposes, where it is used as a band and then discarded, Sisal can be used to advantage, as it is of sufficient strength and can be spun with a fair degree of smoothness. It may be readily treated with tar, which is an advantage when the material upon which it is used is to be stored out of doors.

LEAVES READY FOR CLEANING

ELEVATOR TAKING LEAVES UP TO MACHINE

Sisal is largely used by this company for making Lathyarn and tie ropes of various kinds used for bundling laths, shingles, lumber, kindling wood, cooperage stock, hides, leather, nursery stock, for tying grain and cement sacks, for baling cloth in textile mills and for similar purposes almost innumerable.

But the greatest use we make of this fiber and the use which has done much to place Sisal in its high position in the fiber family, and has helped to make the Mexican state of Yucatan wealthy in a comparatively few years, is in the making of binder twine. The advent and development of the self-binding reaper have opened a veritable gold mine for the Mexican Sisal growers, and a large proportion of the more than 300,000,000 pounds of Sisal annually imported to this country eventually finds its way to the wheat fields, not only of our own great West, but of all the world’s grain-raising countries.

A fiber so largely used can hardly help being a factor in the markets, and some account of its production should be of interest. This story we shall tell briefly, and largely by the use of pictures. These illustrations, to which we draw particular attention, are from photographic negatives in our possession which were taken in Yucatan expressly for us.

BALES WEIGH ABOUT 370 POUNDS

The Sisal or heniquen plant of Yucatan has been used for its fiber for many centuries, but, as we have stated, the present enormous development of the industry dates back but comparatively few years, during which time great progress has been made in putting it upon a highly practical basis as regards both the cultivation of the plant and the preparation of the fiber. Labor-saving machinery is used in place of the old hand methods for extracting the fiber; indeed, the business is now so thoroughly up to date that reports are frequently circulated of the organization or contemplated organization of a “Sisal trust.” Apparently, however, the right “Napoleon of Finance” has not yet come to the fore to accomplish this.

The cultivation of the heniquen is now carried on principally upon large farms or plantations known as haciendas, many of which have made their owners enormously wealthy. In starting a field of plants the suckers or hijos are set out in rows, and cultivation is carried on once or twice a year to keep down the weeds. The appearance of the fields of Sisal and of the growing and matured plants may be seen from our illustrations. When the plant has been growing about five years some of the long, sword-like leaves will be ready to cut, those around the base of the plant maturing first. The time for cutting is indicated by the leaves assuming a nearly horizontal position instead of the more upright one of the younger leaves, at which stage the fiber is at its best. Then the natives, with their corbas go through the fields and cut off the matured leaves, trim the sharp thorns from the sides and ends, and tie up the leaves in bundles of fifty, ready to be carried to the cleaning mill.

The plant continues to yield a supply of leaves for a period of from ten to twenty years. The end of its usefulness is marked by the appearance of the flower stalk or “pole,” and the plant soon dies.

CLEANED FIBER COMING OUT OF CLEANING MACHINE

Most of the large haciendas are supplied with portable tracks, and small cars carry the bundles of freshly cut leaves from the fields to the cleaner house, where the pulp is scraped from the fiber by the powerful cleaning machinery.

SISAL DRYING

As will be seen in the photographs, the bundles of leaves are taken up on an elevator and along a carrier, which feeds them into the machine. The grip chains of the carrier hold the leaves, while the scraping wheels clean the pulp from the fiber, first one end of the leaves being cleaned and then, as they are carried farther along, the second wheel cleans the other end. This leaves the bundles of the fiber still in the grip of the carrier, which takes it out of the machine as shown in the picture. It is then carefully hung in the sun to dry. When thoroughly dry the fiber is taken to the press and made into bales weighing about 370 pounds each.

We have already mentioned the fact that Manila rope is frequently adulterated with cheaper and inferior fibers, and so Sisal in its turn has its inferior imitators, the most common of which is known as Istle, a fiber which also grows in Mexico as well as in other parts of the world. A recent government publication, speaking of the use of Istle in cordage, states, “this fiber has been regarded heretofore as suitable only for use in the manufacture of brushes.”

1. WAITING FOR THE PILOT
2. APPROACHING PLYMOUTH CORDAGE CO. PIER
3. COATED WITH ICE FROM THE STORM
4. LYING ALONGSIDE PIER
5. FIRST BALES COMING FROM HOLD
6. UNLOADING INTO WAREHOUSE

SISAL STEAMER FROM YUCATAN ARRIVING AND DISCHARGING AT PLYMOUTH CORDAGE COMPANY’S PIER

CHAPTER III
The Hemps—American, Russian, Italian. Other Fibers

While the fibers we have already discussed—Manila and Sisal—comprise by far the greater part of the raw material of cordage, we wish to mention in this chapter a fiber which, while now of comparatively slight importance, has the interesting feature of being a home product, and the cultivation of which at one time formed an industry of considerable magnitude in this country. This is the American or Kentucky hemp.

Most of the cordage fibers are commonly known as hemp, but strictly speaking this name applies only to the fiber of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), of which the American hemp is an example. This hemp plant, while a native of Asia, has for many years been grown in the different countries of Europe as well as in America. Its fiber in commerce takes the name of the country from which it comes, as Russian hemp, Italian hemp, etc.

The character of the plant and of its fiber varies considerably, depending upon the conditions of climate and soil in the various sections where it is produced. The fiber is also more or less affected by the varying methods of preparation used in different places. The Italian hemp, particularly, is finer, lighter colored and stronger than American or Russian, and commands a higher price in the market.

Hemp differs from Manila and Sisal by being what is known as a bast fiber, being obtained from the bark of the plant, which necessitates altogether different methods of treatment in extracting the fiber.

The pictures below and opposite, which are from photographs secured through the courtesy of Messrs. T. P. Curry & Son, Danville, Ky., give an interesting glimpse of the Kentucky hemp industry. The plants are cut and spread out to dry, after which they are gathered together in bundles and carefully stacked. Later the stacks are opened and the hemp again spread out for exposure to the action of the dew, frost and sun during the retting process which rots the gums holding the filaments together. The inner, woody part of the stem also becomes dry and brittle by this treatment so that it breaks and falls away during the “breaking” which follows. This process of breaking leaves the fibrous strips or bands in such shape that they can be readily hackled, thus cleaning out any remaining fragments of wood, short fibers and dirt, leaving the long, smooth fiber ready to be bunched together and pressed into bales.

AMERICAN HEMP STACKED IN FIELDS

CUTTING THE HEMP—BREAKING—HACKLING—BALING

NEW ZEALAND FLAX

American hemp differs from Manila by being much softer and of a dark gray color, and is sometimes known as black hemp. Like the Russian and Italian varieties, it is used by cordage manufacturers principally for making various tarred goods, such as ratline, marline, houseline and other products. Before the Manila fiber was so largely used in this country for rope-making, the Kentucky hemp business was of considerable importance, but it has of late years declined very greatly and is now of interest chiefly as representing that class of industries which have been robbed of their former importance by changing conditions. Years ago the American hemp went into the rigging of many a famous vessel, both merchantman and man-of-war, and was a source of pride to its patriotic producers and users. But the substitution of steam vessels for sail and the use of other fibers and of wire for rigging have taken away the great field of usefulness once open to this home product.

Besides the hemps—-American, Russian and Italian—another cordage fiber used to some extent in this country is known as New Zealand hemp or flax, taking its name from the country where it is produced. This is not strictly a hemp, although so called like many other fibers. It is obtained from the leaves of a plant belonging to the lily family, the cultivation of which forms an important New Zealand industry. The extracting of the fiber is done by special machinery and, contrary to the former practice, much attention is now given to properly grading and packing the product, these matters being subject to government inspection.

HEMP GROWING BY THE WATER

New Zealand hemp in general appearance resembles Manila more closely than does any other cordage fiber, and, although it is far inferior in strength and other practical qualities, it is sometimes used as an adulterant in making the cheaper grades of so-called Manila rope. Its presence in a rope sold for Manila is sometimes difficult to detect, which emphasizes the necessity of care on the part of the buyer in getting positive assurance of the purity of the goods offered him.

The only other cordage fibers of much consequence are the so-called African and Java hemps—the first named a product of German East Africa and of British East Africa, the Java hemp a product of the island of the same name.

UNCLE BEN, HEMP BREAKER

CHAPTER IV
Pine Tar

Who does not know of the tarred rigging which once meant so much to the rope-maker? Its very odor seemed to cling to the pages of seafaring books. Its use naturally declined with the development of steam power, yet how few people, perhaps, realize that tarred goods for quite different purposes form an important though incidental branch of the rope business today! Lathyarn—to mention but one class—is consumed annually by the lumber industry in quantities that would surprise many persons. Today’s buyers, furthermore, need goods of high quality just as did the old-time sea captains, and in the manufacture of such goods the tar itself is an important factor.

Pine tar—the kind best suited for cordage—comes from various members of the pine-tree family, and is secured by a distillation process. The principal producing sections are northern Europe and the south-eastern United States—the yellow, long leaf or Georgia pine, which ranks first in this country for tar-making, growing in a territory about one hundred and twenty-five miles wide along the coast from North Carolina to Texas.

HOW PINE TAR IS MADE IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES

1. BUILDING THE KILN
2. STARTING FIRE
3. RAKING BACK COALS
4. TAR COMING FROM KILN
5. DIPPING AND BARRELING
6. WORKING AROUND KILN
7. AFTER HARD DAY AND NIGHT
8. TAR-MAKERS AT HOME
9. BURNING COMPLETED

Of the two methods for extracting the tar—the old kiln and the modern retort processes—the second yields the greater supply, largely because of the more systematic manner in which the industry is carried on. As yet, however, no way has been perfected for obtaining by this newer method a tar that measures up to Plymouth Cordage Company standards, and for this reason we have continued to use the kiln-made article only.

Tar-kiln burning is conducted so far out in the country and in such a desultory fashion that few people have the opportunity to become acquainted with the process. A brief description may, therefore, be of interest. Only dead wood is used, as the green tree does not yield the quality or quantity of tar necessary to make the work profitable. Among the tar-makers the material is known as fat lightwood, possibly from the fact that it ignites easily and burns rapidly. In weight and color it is anything but a light wood.

The wood is cut into convenient lengths and then laid up, with the ground as a floor, to form a pile about twenty-five feet long by five high and tapering in width from eight to five feet. The soil, if soft or sandy, is first covered with clay to lessen the loss of tar, and the pile is usually built on a slope so that the liquid will flow toward the pipe which serves as an outlet.

The kiln is completed by covering the wood with “pine straw” and sand. This prevents air currents and keeps the fire, which is on the back end, from drawing through and consuming the wood without producing tar. Moreover, while the kiln is burning—a period of two weeks or more for a twenty-five cord pile—it must be watched day and night so that straw and sand blown off by the gases within may be replaced at once.

As the tar comes from the kiln it is caught in a hole dug beneath the outlet and is dipped up and poured into barrels—the average yield being one barrel to the cord. The tar is then hauled by cart to water or railroad, thence to be transported to the various naval stores yards.

For the foregoing description and the accompanying illustrations of tar manufacture we are indebted to the American Naval Stores Company. The pictures showing kiln operations are very unusual and were secured only after several trips. The others were taken at the Company’s yards at Wilmington, North Carolina, where the tar is carefully inspected, strained and then re-barreled for shipment to our two factories.

TAR HANDLING AT NAVAL STORES YARD

1. INSPECTING
2. STRAINING
3. LOADING FOR SHIPMENT
4. TAR YARD FROM RIVER