Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-03-26
InPonrEp AnrroLEs.
what the Uaited states should
Produce,

Produce.
To answer 10 q Congressional res
OlutiOn Of inquiry az to the "extent
and value Of the imports Of foreign
commodities susceptible Of produce
ton within the limits Of this cOun-
Try, as plants useful for dys-stuas,
medicines, food products, and for
textile and fbrOus material, aud for
other economic purposes Com
missioner CaprOn makes the fol.
Loving enumeration
The jGte plant (C0rchOrWsl tea,
coffee aud ciRchOnG can be grown
In the United States. The CnltiVa.
ton Of the latter should not be left
to private enterprise at first, but
ought to be conducted In planta.
tons by the government until q
large number Of healthy and accli.
mated plants are obtained for dis.
tribution. The value of these four
plants, II produced within our bor-
ders, Is shown By the table to be
over forty millions OF dollars. do
not say that we can at this moment
supersede by our own production
foreign tea aud coffee, but If we
cannot, II 10 solely due TO the cost
Of labor, and not TO climatic inca
pability.
Sugar 10 one Of those products
which, fortunately, can be made
from one end of our territory to the
other, either from the cane or beet ;
and the value Of this article Of COM
MERGE Is annually interchangeable
impOrtatiOns for the year ending
juno 30, 1869, reaching $72,39S, 800,
gold value. The cultivation Of beet
sugar Is In no way exhausting, but
on the contrary beneficial In q 70.
tation, and valuable as an aid Of
other industries.
Prominent among the substances
which may be grown, and made to
constitute q new product Of indus.
try, are the various dyestuEs which
yield either cOlOring matters OF
tannin. Such are the sumach trees
aud madden plants, the present i'm.
ports Of which are alta very high
figure, as may DO seen by q refer.
ence TO the tables and the statement
already made The climate Of
many Of the Southern and all OF
the Middle States 10 well adapted
for the growth OF these plantp, and
they should be introduced at once
into our ordinary list Of crops.
In addition to hemp and jute, al.
ready mentioned, aud Of as great
importance, as this growth will be
easy and profitable, there are many
species Of the nettle and allied
tribes, which have ibers remarka.
bly, strong and fnc, and the growth
OF which may be well suited 10 Ger.
tain sections. The "China grass,'
or RGmie, which has been grown "a
some extent in Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia,
South Caroline, and Florida, IL on
example of the case with which
cultivation may be extended. In
similar climates some varieties OF
the Agdue, as the Sisal hemp, &c,
may be attempted. The Okrd, as q
paper material, might also be more
extensively grown, a. well as the
Esparto erase, which now occupies
q leading position IN Europe, e. &
material for the manufacture Of
paper.
Among the oil.bearing plants, the
HGiS gUiReRsis, or palm-oil tree
may DO attempted in Florida, and
the coast regions Of Texas ; and the
culture Of the castor oil beau, Pal
ma chriSti, should be extended
while In the Northern and Middle
States might be probably raised
those ANNALS, mostly umbelliferOul
and composite, which contain OF
In their seeds aud flowers as IN,
caraway, anise, lavender, &c. TIT
value Of imported oils Of this claSl
is above $4,000.
The lie. Of substances herein 70,
commended for growth and exper,
iment by no means includes all the
plants which may be grown, but
only the more important numbers
The number might be increased,
but as the extension of the lisl
might not add materially to the
force Of the facts set forth,
hesitate TO add more, believ-
ing hat 1 have shown
how desirable II is TO increase the
variety Of our agricultural produc.
lions, and this department may
labor effectively In this direction.
The list Of articles now imported
annually, which should be pro.
duced In this country (some of
which are already grown here to a
limited extent, while others have
not beeu introduced, though both
soil and climate of some portions OF
our country are we'll suited to their
grOwth) represent gold value of
at least Sl75OO0,0OO; and a few Of
10 the iiscal year ending June Both
1869, are presented as follows:
Sugar, (including mo lasses and
caudies,) $72,398,32O coffee, $24,-
6S6,SlS:; tea, $l3,G90, 1876; iute,
hemp, fax, and similar ilbres S23,.
I'll, raw or reeled silk, 49,
3l2, 73S; rice, Sl,32O, 326; fruits,
KY Hhh x nnnI1u. az go aED.