The Opelousas courier., 1882-11-25

complete SUCCESS. speaking OI
the fibre sent from the Menelas
Plantation, Miss, to be worked
up by the machine at st. Louis,
and also of the machine, he says
ut was soWn a little too late
owing to the wet weather, and
grew too coarse andSbranching,
some stalks being fully three
quarters of an inch at the butt
and very hard and woody. The
machine, .however, worked well
and turned out the fibre as
straight as by hand. 1t will per-
form the work of about sixty
Hindoos in India. send you a
sample. 1t can be made much
whittier by using some cheapchem-
zeal in rotting. To MI. Smith the
world is indebted for inventing
the first machine that will treat
all our fibre plants at a cost that
will enable us to compete with
all the world in those materials.
Mr. Smith is going South to OPP
crate on several jute crops. The
planters of Louisiana propose to
plant some 10000 acres next
season, if the seed can be OBJ
tanned"
Mr. Smith is now at Menelas
Plantation, testing the virtues of
his machine as a decorticator
of other fibre plants besides jute.
He tried it in st. Louis on ramie
raised in Georgia, also on hemp,
and now at the Menelas planta-
ton he will run through the ma
chine cotton stalks and okra
stalks and perhaps bear grass,
or yucca flimentasa, though
this last will doubtless prove
too short to be worked in this
machine. A machine could
doubtless be made with only the
futed rollers of this, dispensing
with the two smooth cylinders,
that would clean bear grass
completely.
Mr Smith will doubtless look
into this business while he is in
the South. His machine would
find millions of tons of bear
grass growing up wild in the
woods in the Gulf States, that
could be obtained at a merely
nominal cost.
Few persons are aware OF the
great extent of the coalfelds OF
this country. 1t is estimated
that there are 100000 acres
of bituminous coal in the Uni
ted States, three-fourths Of
which are thick enough to work.
This coal 10 SO generally and
generously distributed that hard
II any section OF the country
need want for fuel for q long
time to come. The anthracite
coal region occupies only about
SOC, 900 acres, one.third of which
cannot be worked. From q por-
ton Of this territory 81 ,000,0 900
tons have already been taken.
The cost of opening anthracite
Goals veinsis enormous. AWork-
ing shaftto the vein costs from
100000 to $500, 600, and the
Improvement, when made, lasts
but a few years.
THE HOG CRoP SHoRT.-The
proof seems strong that the hog
supply this year is very short,
and pork must remain high. This
is q good time for farmers to
change the habit Of eating so
much pork, and to take to vege-
tables, aud mutton, and fowls,
and cheaper meats, home made;
also to prepare to make all the
pork needed on the farm after
this year, whether pork bears a
high Or d low price. The safest
way for a farmer is to make his
own food supplies as completes
as possible, and Aever allow
himself TO ask the question
whether he can Buy meat and
bread of Western farmers cheap
er than be can make them him.
self.
Little Delaware is Democratic
all over. The political COM
plexion of its Legislature, which
will elect d United States Sena-
tor to succeed Senator Bayard.
ii: Senate, 8 Democrats and 1
Republican; House, solid Dem
ocratic. Senator Bayard will, i'm
all probability be his own suc-
ccssCT.
OHUFAs ron Hoes. - Oeca-
sionally, from year to year, the
ahnfas question comes up In the
mswrsnar1+vrwn r0~,nmr OmI y,rn%fYy