The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-08-02

900 to 400 per cent 6. w. BRAME.
West Point, Miss, July &c.
New YoRK CRY, June q, 1870.
G. w. BRAME, Esq, West Point, Miss.
Dear Sir. In the Mobile Register Of
June s, received to-day, was very much
pleased to see your letter on Ramie.
It's vast value appears from the fact
(from official reports in my hands) that
the British Government for one hundred
years have tried to raise it in India, and
now offer premium of 81 900 for ma
chine to elk it for manufacture The
Chinese cure it by a hand-scraping pro-
cess while green, one man doing only one
and II pounds per day To make Ramie
a success in the United States, we need a
machine to cure two thousand pounds per
day-then where will John Chinaman be?
Ramie can be grown profitably all over
the South, and may yet equal. if not ex-
coed, cotton. Last year, at Camden, n.
| T., saw it in well sheltered garden, cut
the third time, FIVE feet high, equalling
| Chinese. The machine cured small but
failed with large quantities.
| On a place of Hon. Peter Cooper, of
New York, Crawford, n. J.,) within an
hours ride of New York, l have guam
tity of Ramie plants growing finely from
seed. When SO good here, (4o deg. north
latitude, what will it not do in Louisiana
and Mississippi?
All State agricultural societies should
foster its growth, by circulating facts and
offering bounties for its culture, etc.
At the same place, l have also flax,
hemp and jute, all in excellent condition
This fall, I hope to test the value of a
French machine now seen at the Centen-
NAL, Philadelphia, of the result of which
| | will advise you.
| Jute--which in India employs five mil
lions, and yields one hundred million dol
lars per annum-should become an inval-
liable Southern crop. We have found a
species of it wild in New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania and New York. At Crawford, n
T., have it now six to seven inches high
as thick as wheat and growing like corn
Cotton fields belted with lutte, are
wholly saved from caterpillars see u. S
Ag. Rep. 1881 I wish to see if it will
kill mosquitoes, and thus become boon
to humanity. I. inclose some Jute seed
which though late may yet grow ten tc
twelve feet high and an inch thick on any
good corn or cotton land.
From my two papers in Hon. Petel
Coope1's pamphlet, which l send you, yor
will see claim that the true place for fix
ing and manufacturing cotton, jute, ra
mic, etc, is right where it is raised; .expo
sing the folly of dragging them over con
tinents and oceans, to be returned at ar
increased cost of 500 per cent, employing
and feeding the world, while leaving ou
own people idle and starving!
The United States yearly spend SIS,
100000 on flax, hemp, jute, and ramie, o.
in fifty years, $o15, 100000. Does not Thu
explain the hard times? Are we not buy
erS when we should be sellers?
Yours, with great respect,
WILSON WATSON.
Hon. PETER COOPER, New York City:
My Dear Sir: I have to acknowledg.
the receipt of a letter dated April s
signed by Mr. Wilson Watson and your
, self. The subject of Domestic Manufac
lures to which you refer, is of command
ing Importance. While deeply sympa
thizing in your manifested interest in it,
differ widely from your view of the pres
ent state of our home industries.
You say your analysis of the statistics o
; America, England, and France show
that manufactures are the STRENGTH o
SuCn IOIelSH HdliouS, anu OuI w EAk
, NESS"
You seem to infer this from the fac
that, in 1873, the manufacture exports o
France were seven times, and of England
fourteen times. those of u. S.
Instead of regarding MANUFACTURES
as our WEAKNESS, consider them one O
our chief sources of STRENGTH.
In their present state, see signs of pro
gress and abundant cause for hopefulnes:
If | can Prove the correctness of this view
[ am sure it will be source of gratifica
ton to you.
I shall first show that our HOME great
exceeds our foreign trade, and therefor
e better indicates the state of the industrie
y mentioned by you, viz. 1:
IS 1. In 1876, Pa. r. r. traffic betwee
, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh was $500
o42.I5S excluding expresses, a sum argt
:. ly exceeding our yearly foreign impor
r. since 1874
Il 3. In 1877, the value of u S. hon
trade in railroads was computed sixtee
: times that of our foreign trade
4. The average value of commoditi,
! transported on N. Y. canals, in six yea
q -1S72 and 1877-was $I67, 800, 34s,
, more than thrice the u. S. trade wit
Asia, and more than one third the gooe
{ imports of U. S. in 1873 June 3o).
= S. The yearly sales of one New Yor
s house amount to over $73,ooo,ooo, an
of another over So, 100000. The sales