The Opelousas courier., 1869-08-28


mr.. un the planting. cultivation. use. g. Of
t.le Ra1nic. with the sincere hope that some of
our farmers will test its merits dur1ng the ap
preaching se:ts"p. The wisdom o1 d people il
manifested hv tiversfying their -dustrv ~.
that the failure bt single interest NAV not in.
eol:e gene TT, rni i'll. Let the Rllnle therefore
he added. ii posi- ihlr. to the staple cru;s of our
parish Thus giving IA nrw value to or,r lands
and a new pedG ut agricultural iuic,,...
Lelle and PROSPERITY.
This new textile lately intrn,luccd to South
rrn .t.r"llturlsts. \ Is a native OF the Island o;
Java. and was first brought to Europe for invcS-
tI.ntI"n III 1874. where it received the botanical
nnI..- of BThntr rria Trnarissimu. and by the
beauty ald strength of it's fibre attra. ted much
attention. i'll mali facturing rlclts. Since TINT
Tine every encO nragement has been given t"
pr"durrrs i'll tue East Indies TO induce. them TO
cultivate Ramie i'll sufficient u'lantity to supply
the demand; the result il that c"nsilcsahi..
quantity IA annually received i'll Europe and
manufactured into fabrics of tie finest quality.
-xrelng in sire 9Th. beauty stn, finish. lineu of
the finest texture, and rivalns even silk in lus-
trr.
Since its int ron action into the United States
III March. 1857. it has excited much interest
among European manufacturers. They con
slider the fibre of the Brhmer7n Ttnurissimu
superior I" that of any other trNtie plant and
very valuable for nltnllfactIv"h. purposes; the
supply from tn" East is rntirlv inadequate to
fill the demand. and unequal to the fibre here
produced III quality; they arr. therefore. very
dr>lr"us ot t.ciig Ramie successfully cultivat-
ed i'll s"nn ruuu;ry where the yield will be large
and regular.
ADV vANTAGES or RAM!E OVER COTTON AND OTHER
STAPLES Now CULTIVATED IN THE soCTH.
The soil aud climate of the Southern States
are particularly adapted iur the cultivation OF
kamir. which 'quirs Il loose, sandy soil and
trluperate climate. These advantages ran b.
secured in aNv Of the Cotton growing States.
.nrt ssf
ia armrrs are financially crippled. and cannot at
ford t" cAlnn'l the large s,il,is necessary to
cure the la ,"r IT, niakr cot" and sugar protit
able crops both of these articles require large
capital and rnntilucns cultivation to bring
them to p,rfctlon. and both may be injured or
destroyed by univorable sx;l~urs, ur other
can>-~ C",t"u may l~ t""alv destroyed by
the army worm, other insects. The ti;fp of
Rtluir being contained in the inner iifk OF
,he stem. cannot he injured in that way. and
will not be hurt by either lon. continued wet "r
dry weather: be>"- il requires small capital
I" start IA Ranlie plantation the plant he,ng
easily pruisi9at,d an, cultivated it ls per,:I-
NAL and viii not require replanting.
Having been interested Ill tiaml" culture since
it, Introduction i'll Louisiana il lSj,. | have
given my undivided attention to securing its
sllcct.>iM introduction aud cultivation. and
bringing its worth .nd us-fulmie- before the
Southern public have nlade frequent cHprll-
ncutS in eNtrarting the fibre from the stein and
preparing it for USE and have tried plants
-r'wn i'll this and other States with the most
satisfactory results. | tud that fibre is
even finer than that of Java. and that the Weld
per acre il greater. In any of the cotton States,
Eaunie can be harvested at least three times
Wear; each harvest or cutting i'll produce be
tween hin" and twelve hundred pt,in.ls max
ing an average annual crop Ut about three thou
salsd pounds Of crude unprrpareu fibre, worth
at prestnt in EnrUpe ten cents specie per pound;
i'll preparing the fibre tor manufacturing pur-
poses it lnses shout nie half, and increases iu
a.rY Siy ft-- Exa ia NOR ia
apparent that Ramie. requiring little or no til
lage to produce such magnificent results, is the
nost profitable crop that the planter can culti-
Nate.
The fibre, when prepared for the spinner. is
beautifully white. soft and glossy. closely re-
sembling floss silk iu appearance it is match
stronger than the hest flax. and readily receives
the most difficult dyes without injury to its
strength or lustre.
NODE OF PROP ssi iArlSe.
1 rich sandy soil il the most suitable for Ra-
n,ie cultivatiQn and s particularly desirS tor
a nursery. " here plants are to be rapidly prup-
agated. Fer field culture the plant will thrive
iu any good sandy land To secure u rapid aud
vigorous growth of roots. the land should be
thoroughly and deeply bruken up to uniform
depth ut Ahuut ten inches aud we'll pulvcrized.
This is highly important, and should be careful
" performed to insure rapid accumulation OF
roots.
In propaSating level cultivation is preferable ::
root cuttings should always be used Tor L.ss
planting.
After the ground has been thoroughly pre-
pared as above directed. the touts sl."ulI be
planted about six feet apart each WAY, three
inches deep, and slantingIy, with about one inch
pxlt,aed above the surface; care should be taken
- to keep the ground moist arUund the rOots when
first planted. No further attention, with the
exception of wedding, ID required until the
Apruuts art about two feet high, when they
should be gradually and gently inclined towards
the earth. When they have attained hei sht
Of three or four feet it will BE- noticed that they
become of q brownsh color near the root. they
are then ready tor propagation lncI.ions shAuit
thea be made with n thin. sharp pointed knife
at each eve of the stem, which should then be
bent gently down and covered with about three
or four inches of loose earth, care being taken
to avoid detachinE the stetn from the parent
root About six inches Of the leaty end should
be left uncovered. In the course Ut three or
four weeks these layers will have taken root,
and may then be separsted fr0sh the main root,
the field, layers may be laid down without being
divided.
FIELD CULTURE.
After the ground has been ploughed deep and
Thoroughly broken up, it should be laid off in
beds running the length Of the field these
should be made about six inches high aud four
feet wide, with q fat surface passages threa
feet wide should be left ON each side, and cart
ways ut intervals through the field. shallow
turrow might be run down the center of each
bed; if roots are to be planted they should lie
put In the ground slantfng's, three inches deep
and two feet arart with end projecting above
the ground II layers are TO be planted they
should be laid in furrow about three inches
deep, horizontally, with the ends lapping as in
cane planting. After the first years growth has
been cut, new sprouts win issue from 1ll parts
Of the bed the growth will become very dense,
AMI choke ont I'LL other vegetation.
- HARvEsrISG.
When the steu,s have attained height Of six
o. eight tset. they ART then ready to be harvest
Cd; but should it be inceu venient for the farmer
to eomaneuee cutting at the time, the fibre will
nut be seriously injured if left in the 6sld for
week o. ewu longer. In eutting the stems an
ess,iinary ea.se knife may bs used, esre being
taken to put the stem ittie below the ground.
IL will also bs advisable to extract the fibre
vhca the stems are not too dry. o. that labor 10
then nusa more easily performed. and the abre
10 Of better quality If bts,Isen out while I'm that
cttniiifinn s;,,,,,I1 and eaxiiR werire unnehine