The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-04-12
5UrE CULTURE IN LOUISIANA.



A Great lndustry g vyhach Enrmers
I'm the soush are GavHng Attention.
Correspondence Of he New York saal
New ORLEANS. March 8l.--In 1873, the
amount paid for jute imported inso the United
States was "a, 500 600 in 1850, for the year end
ing June 80, It was e70OO. 900; and this year it
will, in all probability, reach the round sum OF
10000 900. Jutc il an annual plant OF the or
der tziacee, and of the genus corrhorus capssta-
ria. It's stem IL from one-half inch 10 one inch
in diameter grows TO the height Of ten OF twelve
feet, is very straight, and branches only at the
top. II has sharply serrated, lanceolated leaves,
about six inches long and nearly two inches
wide The flowers have i've sepals and FIVE
petals. The stamens numerous, but they have
only one pistil The bark il fbrous, like that of
hemp or fax, and 1t Is the fibre that Is used 1t
is more soft and silky than either fax or hemp,
and is very fine-that Is, capable Of minute sub
division-and it's being 30 fine and of such great
length causes II TO be sometimes woven with
silk in cheap fabrics. The seed 10 sown in
March or April, and 1t may be cut in June, July,
and August. 1t is best to cut 1t when it begins
TO blossom, as the fibre is then better than when
the plant is older. After being cut the stems are
stepped In water until the fibre separates easily
from the stems. 1t is then prepared for the
loom In a manner similar to that in which fax
is prepared, only the stems are not dried and
broken, as the fax stems In Egypt and Syria
the corchorus olit0rius is cultivated as pot herb
The American linden or Eastwood, sometimes
called "lnn wood" is the most familiar repre-
sentative of the order 10 which jute belongs, and
the renowned honey OF Lithuania is made from
linden blossoms, and the highly priced Western
honey comes from apiaries which are located
near the great Eastwood forests in the West.
Jute is used TO make coarse cloth, mattings,
cheap carpets, burlaps, coarse bagging, gunny,
rice bags, coffee sacks, and like articles. 1t is
not good for ropes, rs it cannot stand the weather
yet our hemp ropes are frequently adulterated
with jute. When the waterfall tor the head was
in fashion, many were the switches which were
made of jute instead of flax, as was often said.
Gunny is the name of the coarse cloth used TO
bale cotton. The yield of this years cotton is
set down at 100000 to 6,25O,OOO bales Each
bale takes about seven yards of gunny, hence
5000 900 bales of cotton require 900 yards
of cloth made from the fibre of the jute plant.
This is one item, and the largest, but TO it we
must add the bagging for the increasing rice CROP
and for wheat and coffee and pepper until the
whole catalogue filled.
There is now no question but that we could
supply this demand ourselves, and prosper by
TIE production of jute. 1t is a settled fact that
many of the Southern States have splendid jute-
growing lands California, realizing the benefit
of its culture,has been bagging her own products
from her own soil for several years, and it is
said that jute mandatory will soon be started
in this city. The jute plant is considered sure
crop in this State. 1t is no harder to raise than
corn, and the time Of harvesting comes just
about the time when the cotton planter could
ceverly put his farm force TO the cutting of jute
and thus few extra hands would be needed TIC
cultivate it is light labor, the rank growth caus-
ing it to overshadow everything else in the field
and the yield is 10 say the least, wonderful
The ends of the stems are used for making paper
as are the old sacks and bags. The stems may
be used for garden fences and coarse baskets
and, like the willow of Delaware and Maryland
they make good charcoal for gunpowder These
are some extra uses to which the waste is put, as
the fibre is the important part of the plant.