Nevada County picayune., 1889-06-19
Cotton Stalk and Jute Fibre.

Prof. W. $, Thomas, geologist of the Iron Mountain Railroad Depart ment, appeared before the Little Rock Board of Trade recently, by invitation, and spoke at considerable length on the value of textile fabrics, submitting samples of cotton fiber made from the ordinary cotton stalk.
 He stated that four years ago New England scientist told him he be- | lieved that valuable fiber could be evolved from the cotton stalk of the South. The professor said:
 This gentleman was an enthusiast. and he enthused me. He firmly be- licved that the cotton stalk had q fiber which it would pay to extract for commercial purposes. After this lost connection with the gentleman. but his ringing words remained with hiN' anu ttNpltN d SieuI tcdl pl lliN tune to the study of the textile iibers of Arkansas. That l have been as- tonished by the result is known wherever l am known. am now convinced that every textile fiber known to the arts can be produced In Arkansas. This fall Prof Water house, of Washington University, who has a national reputation, called to see me for the purpose of examin ing some jute had raised on my farm in this county. He had devo- ted years to the study of jute, trav- cling all over this and other coun- tries. He told me he found in the South the soil, the climate and every condition necessary to it's successful cultivation; that he believed d qual- ity as fine as that of India could be grown in Arkansas, and that my sample was as fine as any he had seen anywhere. The only trouble in the jute question then, as now, is the cost in this country of separating the fiber from the stalk. We have not yet been able to perfect machinery which would enable us to compete with the cheap labor of foreign countries. The only question, 80 far as Arkansas is concerned, is its economic production, So much for one of our raw products. The next time l heard from Prof Water house he called my attention to the work of the American Consolidated Fiber Company of New York. l wrote them and have been watching their operations until success has crowned their efforts. They now produce the fiber from the stalk in from one to four hours. have samples of the fiber made from cot ton stalks sent the company. They make 3,60O pounds at one time, and in upwards of four hundred trials so far there has not been single failure. They produce from our ordinary cot ton stalks fiber as soft as wool, with the lustre of silk and the strength at linen, l suppose we shall next hear of the use of the leaf of the plant. am glad to be able to report this matter, and to know that this board will give the enter prise the encouragement it deserves. We want them to come here to pro- duce the fiber, and to locate the fac tories here. We must encourage the consumption at home of our raw materials. We furnish the raw ma terials for the enrichment of other States. It is time to utilize them at home. Our resources undeveloped are of no value. Utilized they are wealth. We look to the North and see eight States turning out 7j per cent of the goods manufactured, and controlling 70 per cent. of the capi- tai of the country, We must pet uD and work. Induce those capitalists to come and see. Tell them what we have, and in the end we shall see our hills dotted with factories, great cit les on all sides, and happy, pros- porous people, endowed with plenty and all the conveniences of modern civilization.
 "He Kissed Me" AnalvZed