The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1880-05-29
Important TO the South.
Rural World.

Rural World.
Mr.. lie Due, Commissioner of Ag-
riculture, has kindly sent me a guam
tity of lutte seed. AS the time fol
planting has already arrived, it is
hoped that those who wish to try the
experiment of raising iute will make
immediate applica ton for the seed TO
DR.. G. Hanback,, of Washington
University, who has kindly consented
to superintend the distribution. AS
il is desirable to have the test made
on as large an area as possible, only Il
small quantity of seed will be sent to
any one applicant.
.jute grows in warm climate and
moist alluvial soil. The seed should
be planted in drills about three feet
apart, in ground which has been thor
oughly pulverized by the pillow and
harrow. Drilling is better than broad
cast sowing because it gives chance
for the easy removal of weeds. The
cultivatOr should be frequently used
between the rows so as to keep the
soil in friable condition.
These experiments will be purely
tentative. They are intended to de-
termine under what conditions of eli
mate and soil Indian jute can be nat
uraliZed in the United States. Plan
tiers should keep Il careful record of
the time of planting, towering and
maturing, of the character of the soil,
Of the monthly temperature and rain
fall during the period of cultivation,
and of the height of the mature stalk
and of the quality of the fibre. Only
those who will consent to observe
these conditions should send orders
for the seed.
1t is extremely important that all
the seed Of home grown lutte be pre-
served for future use.
AS the seed which the agricultural
bureau has sent me was imported
from India, it is not worth while for
farmers north OF the latitude of st.
Louis to attempt its cultivation.
The successful culture of Indian
jute would probably demand a warmer
climate than that of north Missouri.
1t seems to me that our Southern
States cannot any longer afford to
neglect an Industry that is bringing
to India more than one hundred mill
lions year. Probably the single
State of Texas has more land suitable
to the cultivation of jute than the
whole area India now devotes to this
tillage. Its not unreasonable to hope
that Southern planters will, under
every diversity of climate and soil,
conclusively test the possibility of
naturalizing Indian jute in the United
States.
Since the feasibility of introducing
jute into this country began to be ac-
lively discussed, three processes-two
mechanical and one chemical-have
been devised for the separation of the
fiibres. If these machines do their
work rapidly and cheaply, so that
steam fingers can compete with the
manual labor of India, then the day
is not far distant when the domestic
lutte will stand next to cotton in tex
tile Importance.
Very truly yours,
:. WATERHOUSE.
We intended before this to have
written an article on the cultivation
of jute, but have neglected to do 50.
1t grows luXuriantly in the Southern
States, and we have seen it growing on
the raj road south of this place from
five to tx feet high.
The time is not far distant when
iute will be planted more extensively,
and certainly can be made more remu-
ncrative than cotton.