Chapter 958： Sisal fiber

Marlin's plan to hunt grizzly bears is still too late. When the maple syrup was sent back in March, it was already the end of April. Not to mention that it takes time to prepare the strong bow and the three-sided heavy arrow, even if Marin immediately sent the ship back to North America to send the weapon, it was also in early June. The maple sugar collection time is only March and April.

In fact, the maple sugar collection in Canada in April did indeed encounter a large number of bear attacks. Garland's men counted that there were more than 500 oak barrels collected by the bears to collect maple syrup. Fortunately, the indigenous people were not stupid and did not dare to provoke the grizzly bear, otherwise they would definitely be beaten to death by a group of bears.

But in this way, Garland still achieved the goal of 10,000 barrels of maple syrup production. After all, sugar maple trees in Canada are everywhere. Unlike a large number of forests that were cut down in later generations, in this era, Canada was full of trees and there were many sugar maple trees.

Garland just contacted the local indigenous people along the coast and the indigenous people along the St. Lawrence River. In March and April, more than 400,000 barrels of maple syrup were collected and more than 10,000 barrels of maple were processed. syrup.

In fact, if it was not that the local indigenous people were not very skilled in the early collection and the serious interference of the grizzly bear, the output of maple syrup this year will definitely exceed 12,000 barrels.

Moreover, this year Garland's men and women did not go deep into the hinterland of the Saint Lawrence River, but only arrived a little southwest of Quebec City in the later generations. They have not yet arrived in the city of Sanhe, or even Montreal.

That is to say, Garland's fleet only penetrated eight or nine hundred kilometers of the St. Lawrence River, and the total length of the St. Lawrence River was more than 3,000 kilometers upstream. Garland explored only part of it.

But Garland has no choice, because there are many restrictions for ships to sail in rivers. The biggest limitation is insufficient wind. This is because the dense virgin forests of North America blocked the winds on the continent, making it difficult for sailboats to sail on inland rivers. Sometimes, when the wind stops, the sailboat has to stop there, which is very troublesome.

Therefore, Garland intends to apply to Marin for a batch of Italian-style paddle sailboats, specifically for the inland navigation of the St. Lawrence River, so as to be able to go deeper and obtain more sources of maple syrup.

Previously, Garland directly docked the ships on the temporary docks of the cooperative tribes near the river, waiting for the indigenous people to exchange with oak barrels filled with maple syrup. The more riverboats, the easier it is to buy maple syrup.

...

However, expanding the output of maple syrup is just Garland's plan. For Marin, it is not keen. Why? Because the maple syrup is not bright now.

If it is known by other European countries that a large amount of forest in Canada can collect syrup in large amounts every year, it is estimated that several countries will surely jump out and compete. Especially France and Spain are the most powerful. France alone, maybe Marin is not afraid. After all, the French Navy is too garbage. However, if such a huge benefit is seen, France and Spain may join forces. By that time, Marin would be overwhelmed.

Therefore, no matter how much maple syrup there is, Marin will not use much and dare not disclose it. For now, maple syrup is the most used for blending rye Erguotou and making maple syrup biscuits for military and sailors. Therefore, its demand is not large, about 10,000 barrels a year. No amount seems to be used.

Also, Cuba and Grenada under Marin now also produce sucrose. As far as the source of desserts is concerned, maple syrup is not unique and there is no need to produce too much.

But for the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, Marin certainly supports it. Because, deep into the St. Lawrence River, you can not only buy maple syrup, but also buy rare animal fur. In addition, Marin must be prepared to control the St. Lawrence River Basin. Because if you do n’t control it, someone else will try to control it ...

In the past, the English people were not much of a Canadian area that could not be cultivated. They did not penetrate the Canadian coast, but specialized in the management and development of the east coast of the United States suitable for agriculture.

The French had weak maritime power and could not compete with the United Kingdom on the east coast of the United States, so they simply concentrated on operating the Canadian coast, especially the St. Lawrence River Basin. It even built Quebec City, which formed the actual occupation of Canada's eastern coast. It was not until the "Seven-Year War" period that Quebec was snatched by the British.

But this also reminded Marin of some places, if you don't occupy, you will be occupied by others. Therefore, it is better to occupy a hole first and avoid letting others take advantage of it.

In fact, in history, the entire America was awarded to Spain by the Holy See. Unfortunately, the Spaniards only paid attention to the development of the Caribbean and South America, and ignored the development of North America. Then, British talent took advantage of it. Then, France, the enemy of the British, also entered the coastal areas of Canada ...

Therefore, Marin, who learned his lesson, decided to pay attention to the occupation and protection of the east coast of North America anyway. As for South America, Argentina must also be occupied near the mouth of La Plata. In the Caribbean, Marin pays less attention. If there is really no way, other countries can be allowed to occupy one or two islands. Anyway, the most valuable Cuban island in the Caribbean Sea has been controlled by Marin.

...

In early May, the Havana colony of Cuba sent another ship back. The arrival of this ship made Marin overjoyed ...

Marin was overjoyed because this ship was loaded with a batch of sisal leaves, the total amount reached several tons ...

In the middle of last year, Tara sent the ship back to tell Marin that he had found the seeds of sisal. Then, at that time, Marin was immediately happy to let Tara cut down trees and plant sisal in the hilly area near Havana. To this end, Tara used the purchased sisal seeds to plant 500 acres of sisal in the hilly area near Havana.

However, the maturity of sisal is more than 2 years. In September last year, Tara ordered people to plant sisal, but they had to wait a year and a half to harvest.

However, Marin gave Tara instructions that he could not only buy sisal seeds from the Mexicans, but also directly purchase the finished sisal fiber ...

Even if native Mexicans do n’t know how to collect sisal fibers in this way, let them directly collect sisal leaves?

So, Tara once again sent people to the Aztec empire in Mexico to discuss the purchase of sisal fiber with the local indigenous people.

But the Aztecs are not willing to collect sisal fiber, why? Because Aztec stone knives can't cut sisal blades ... even if they are cut, the blade's blade damage is also great ...

In desperation, Tara directly let them break the positive leaves of sisal from the bottom of sisal. After all, the bottom end of sisal leaves is not sisal fiber, but the petiole, which is easy to break down.

In order to lure the Aztecs to help him break the sisal leaves, Tara directly took out the cane sugar ...

Although it is the lowest level of brown sugar, the Aztecs have never eaten anything so sweet. Then, the Aztecs were conquered by the taste of sucrose ...

So, the astute Aztec merchants sent their men to the remote arid area in the northwest, broke the leaves of sisal, and brought them to the coastal market to exchange sucrose with Tara's men ...

Then, Tara raised a few tons of sisal leaves and sent them back to the mainland ...

After Marin got these sisal leaves ~ www.novelhall.com ~ immediately found a craftsman who was good at making linen rope, let them split the sisal leaves, split them into fibers, and then process them into ropes.

After all, sisal rope is the best sailing cable and a good material for making sails.

However, after seeing these batches of sisal leaves, the rope-making artisans sucked again and again. Why? Because of this batch of sisal leaves, the best processing time should be just after harvesting. Fresh sisal leaves are easier to cut and then soaked with a special salt solution to improve their performance.

But this batch of sisal was sent back directly in the form of leaves, and the best processing period has been missed. Fortunately, sisal fiber itself is of good quality. Although the performance may be reduced, after the rope craftsmen processed it, they all agreed that the rope made from this sisal is much stronger than the ordinary linen rope ...

Then, the first batch of sisal rope was applied to the effortless steering wheel system made by Da Vinci. Because sisal is particularly hard-wearing, you do n’t have to worry about the rope breaking due to wear and tear during future sailing ...

In addition, Marin took out a batch of processed sisal fiber, and asked women who were good at weaving cloth to make it into canvas, which was used to match the sails of the upper edge skewer sail. After all, the upper edge slant sail canvas made of linen cannot be made too large. Mainly, the strength is not enough. The sisal fiber has high strength, which is no less than the strong nylon of later generations. Therefore, it is suitable for making large area sails.

The sisal ropes made and the sisal fiber sails being woven will be applied to the sailing boat that Malin will go to Daming in the future. After all, the best thing is definitely for Marin's own use. The sturdy sisal ropes and sails also ensure the safety of this voyage. After all, Marin is only a crosser, not a fairy, and has no second life to squander ...