Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1881-04-13
Lutte, The Coming Staple.

"The cultivation of Jute in India
consists of thorough preparation
of the land as for wheat. The seeds,
which are about the size OF white
mustard. are sown broadcast and
narrowed or pushed in, and there
is no more work necessary until the
plant is ready to be cut. The prop.
er time for cutting is indicated by
the bloom, which will appear in two
aud half months. The fibre is at
that time best, and becomes harsh
if the plant is allowed to stand I'M.
til the seed ripens.
Ii is stated in the United States
Agricultural Reports the yield of
Jute fibre per acre in India is eight
times that Of cotton Oh the same
quantity of the land, and that the
average height of the plant on good
land, is six or seven feet, and that
~ early as 1874 India exported more
than l,0O0,OOO,O00 pounds of Jute
fibre.
The preparation of the fibre is
very simple. The stalks are bound
in bundles and thrown into the ba.
yous or draining canals and ditch es
where they are allowed to remain
week, when the fibre becomes soft
and mushy and is shaken from the
stems; washed and dried in the sun,
and is ready for use or market.
That part which grew nearest the
ground is cut of from twelve to
eighteen inches lons and becomes
the jute bntts of commerce. The
other portion of the fibre, which is
as long as the stem, is twisted into
banks, assorted and pressed into
bales. The finer fibre is 'rotted"
underneath running water, care he
ing taken to keep it well under the
waterto prevent discoloration. The
fibre from the upper portion OF the
stems is soft and lustrious like silk
and care is necessary TO ascertain
the right moment when the albumen
and starch of the bark is sufficient.
~ "rotted (fermented) to wash out
readily aud free the fibre.
The agricultural report of 1879
states that "The plant can be profit
ably grown wherever in the South
ern States there is a hot, damp eli
mate and q moist soil of sandy clay
or alluvial mold" bat reports of
practical farmers from different par.
ishes Of Louisiana establish the fact
beyond doubt that the climate of the
State and all its varieties of soil are
eminently suited to the cultivation
Of the plant. Indeed, the reports
from all the cotton States from South
Carolina to Texas indicate that il
hourishes in any soil which will grow
cotton. In Louisiana the best re-
ports are from the alluvial lands
where it grew from twelve to sixteen
feet high, but reports from the pine
hills and fats and the prairie and
sandy sea coast are satisfactory.
At Covington, i'll the parish of st.
Tammany, it grew thirteen feet
high.
The large area of open land in
Louisiana subject 10 overflow from
Grand Levee and Bonnet Care ere.
vases can be made available by
planting the jute after the waters re.
cede. Unlike other crops, it is not
molested by worms aud insects
which follow an overflow aud de-
stroy the young plants as soon as
they sprOut. Indeed, there is no
animal which will eat jute, and it is
less subject to disaster and unfavor.
able weather, than any crop grown
in the South.
1t 10 mistake, however, to sup
pose that jute should be planted in
wet, marshy ground. While it will
grow under circumstances that
would kill another crop, it does best
on we'll drained soil.
1t is claimed by those who have