The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-01-14

u
isianians have gone to work to add the
culture of ramie, and also jute, to the
staple industries of the South, Is likely to
accomplish the object and supply to our
country new and very important source
of revenue. The fact that the soil and
climate of the more Southern States are
adapted to the vigorous growth Of the
ramie plant was established twenty years
ago, but the manner of systematic Gull
ture and the preparation of the fibre
are the essential conditions of profitable
industry which are being learned to-day,
and the school of practice is in Louisiana,
whence the necessary information goes out
to those interested. DR.. @. l.. Mitchell,
Florida Commissioner of Lands and I'M
migration, at whose Office copies may be
obtained, hands us pamphlet published
by Messrs. J. Juvenet Is Co., 81 st.
Charles street, New Orleans, the title of
whichis "7o the Agricu!turists cfheSoush.
ern States Ramie and Jute." We find
in it nothing in the way of apparent ex-
aggeration or highly colored statement,
but information which is "strictly bust
ness" aud quite convincing as to the
profit to be found in ramie and jute cul-
ture. Mr. Juvenet is the inventor of an
improved and simpli6ed decorticating
machine which he had manufactured in
New Orleans, and has tested it at the Ex-
position with rAmie stalks raised in Lou
isiana from roots imported by himself
from Africa We find in the pamphlet
extracts from New Orleans papers de-
scribing the operation of the machine,
from which we select the following:
y. 0. Times Democrat
1t Is not necessary to repeat all that has been
lately said in regard to the culture of ramie and
iute, and thcuses Of these plants for textile pur.
poses. All who are interested in the question,
however should pay visit to the exhibit of
MessIs J. Juvenei & Co, in rear of Music Hall,
at the Exposition, aud see for themselves the
process of converting the raw plant into hand
some cloth. 1t seems about certain that Juve-
uet has done for rame and jue what Whitney
did for Cotton and Steel. Al last machine has
been devised that will cheaply, practically and
chime in question is of small size and handy for
isrme s. lis products are DeaiDess itself in ap-
p. arance, and the work perfp med is most COM
Eleic and thorough. a Tines Democrat reporter
timed the performance Of the machine yester-
dnv, and saw 100 stalks of ramle turned out
completely decorticated in one minute giving
one pound of crude bark TO the minute, or 600
pounds per day. The stalks of iute being longer
and the bark heavier than ramc, 100 stalks of
that plant were decnrticaed in one minute and
fifteen seconds, giving pounds, or 1876 pounds
per hour, and $50 Per day. This was done
g.ilh machine oi four horse power, and three
hands at work upon il.
NJ. Juvenet's chemical process for putting the
raw bark into condition ready for spinning was
next examined with interest. In one hour ra-
me bleached and turned snowy white,
while jute was entirely ungummcd and became
Il neat canary textile, proving Mr. Juvenet's
chemical process as perfect as his machine.
" o. Pcayune.l
One OF the most important problems for solu-
ton in Louisiana is to find means of prepar-
ing, on large scale, with sufficient cheapness,
The fibres of juie and ramie for the manufacturer.
The cotton States of the South use annually mil
| lions on millions of yards Of juie bagging for
| packing cotton. The jute plant is grown with
the greatest ease and OF the best quality in large
sections of the Gulf States, but, heretofore, no
| means have been discovered of preparing the
| fibre for market here, in comparison with the
| hand labor of the Hindoos whose product is i'm
| ported into America and Europe. The jute of
India is so cheaply prepared by the natives, that
| American labor cannot begin to compete with it.
| 1t is the same with ramie. This plant yields
| fibre finer and more beautiful than that OF fax
and is inferior only to silk. The ramie plant
grows luxuriantly 10 Louisiana, but the expense
| of preparing its fbre has, practically, made tia
| valueless product for this country.
| The jute belongs TO the family of linden blooms
known to the botanists as Tiliace. Its specific
name is Corchorus Olitorus. 1t grows ten to
twelve feet high, with strong woody stalk
The ramie belongs to the family Of Nettles or
| Urticac;e Its specific name is Urticia B9hme-
ria Ii is a stngess nettle from the Island Of
Java, growing with a straight woody stalk four
10 six feet high Small plots of ground on which
jute and ramie are to be seen growing, are 10 the
Exposition Park, near the Mexican Building.
Mr. J. Juvenct, of Algeria, and now Of New
Orleans, has for long time devoted himself 10
the task of making machine for preparing the
ibres of these two plants, and has installed his
apparatus in Machinery Hall. at the Exposition.
Yesterday he gave an exhibition of its opera
ton TO a number of persons who take an interest
in the subject. He rses q machine for detaching
the fibre from the woody portion of the stalk, and
supplements the machine with chemical bath
in which the fibre is further purified and
bleached.
The machine, which is about six feet long by
81 wide, consists of three series of rollers be-
Briefly stated, the process is rs follows
The stalks are laid parallel on feeding table
with the butts inserted between the first pair of
rollers OF iron and some eight inches ia diameter.
BY these rollers the stalks are mashed fiat and
partially disorganized. The rollers are kept
wet by pipes which sprinkle water freely upon
them. and on the stalks between them
Next the crushed stalks are passed between q
pair OF brass rollers futed so as TO press the
stalks into the depressions or flutes, and thus
break the woody portions OF the stalks into frag-
| ments without dam ,gin. the fibres
Next the broken stalks and fibres are passed
between revolving brass scrapers moving al
high speed, and these scrape and winnow most
ii The woody matter from the fbruus mass,
which is passed between another pair Of revolv-
wiunowing action ami by this means the fibre
IS pretty thoroughly cleaned
The bleaching bath, which comes afterwards.
can only be mentioned here.
The machinery is quite simple and its action
direct. No more skill appears to be required to
fe cd it than is given to the feeding OF sugar
cane mill, and the machinery is apparently not
liable To get out of order.
n O. Item.l
The trial of Mr.. Juvenets decor,caiing ma
chine was continued yesterday at the EXPOSE
lion building, ramie plants being used in the ex-
periments. 1t was found that one hundred stalks
could be successfully passed through the ma
chine in minute, at which rate six hundred
pounds of fibre could be cleaned per day.