Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-03-29

the land as for wheat. The SEEDS,
which are about the size of white
mustard, are sOwn broadcast and har-
rowed or brushed in, and there is no
more work necessary until the plant
is ready to be cut. The proper time
for cutting is indicated by the bloom,
which will appear in two and a half
months. The fibre is at that time
best and becomes harsh if the plant
is allowed to stand until the seed II.
pens.
1t is stated in the United States
Agricultural Reports the yield Of Jute
fibre per acre in India is eight times
that ofcotton on the same quantity of
land, and that the average height of
the plant on COED land, is six or seven
feet, and that as early as 1874 India
exported more than l,O00,000,00O
pounds of Jute fibre.
The preparation of the fibre is very
simple. The stalks are bound in bum
dies and thrown into the bayOus or
draining canals and bitches where
they are allowed to remain % week,
when the fibre becomes soft and
muslly and is shaken from the stems;
washed and dried in the sun, and is
ready for use OF market.
That part which grew nearest the
ground is cut off from twelve to eight
cen inches long and becomes the jute
butts of commerce. The other por-
ton of the fibre, which is as long as
the stem, is twisted into hanks, as
sorted and pressed int bales. The
finer fibre is .rotted" underneath
running water, care being taken to
keep it well under the water to pre-
vent discoloration. The fibre from
the upper portion Of the stems is soft
and lustrous like silk and care is nee
essary to ascertain the right moment
when the albumen and starch of the
bark is sufficiently 'rotted" (ferment-
,ed) to wash out readily and free the
fibre.
The agricultural report of 1879
states that "The plant can be profit
ably grown wherever in the Southern
States there is hot, damp climate
and moist soil of sandy clay or al
luvial mold" but reports of practical
farmers from different parishes of
louisiana establish the fact beyond
doubt that the climate of the State
and all its varieties of soil are emf
nently suited to the cultivation Of the
plant. Indeed, the reports from all
the cotton States from South Carolina
to Texas indicate that it fourisles in
any soil which will grow cotton. In
Louisiana the best reports are from
the alluvial lands where it grew from
twelve to sixteen feet high; but re-
ports from the pine hills and flats and
the prairie and sandy sea coast are
satisfactory. At Covington, in the
parish of st. Tammany, it grew thir-
teen feet high.
The large area of open land in
Louisiana subject to overflow from
Grand Levee and Bonnet Care Gre
vases can he made available by
planting the jute after the waters
recede. Unlike other crops. it is not
molested by worms and insects which
follow an overflow and destroy the
young plants as soon as they sprout
Indeed, there is no animal which vii
eat the jute. and it is less subject tt
disaster and unfavorable weather
than any crop grown in the South.
1T is a mistake, however, to sup
pose that iute should be planted il
wet, marshy ground. While it vii
grow under circumstances that woul'
kill another crop, it does best on wei
drained soil.
1t is claimed by those who hav
planted it in the vicinity Of cotto
that its rank odor drives away insect
destructive to the crop.
There are other reasons which max
iute a valuable adjuncts to the cultul
of Southern products.
Planted on the first of April, in TIL
climate it will be ready to cut frol
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