St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-06-08
What Can be Done in Louisiana.

Millions Can be Made by Industry ane
Capital.
The following interesting article wa;
taken from the South Illustrated, month
ly, published in New Orleans, in the in
terest of the South and her industries
Let US take short glance at some OF
the industries that might be built up by
energy combined with little capital in
this wonderful State. Three parts energy
to one part capital is about the proper
mixture required here.
The canning of fruits and vegetables is
an industry scarcely attempted IN the
State yet nowhere in these United States
are offered such variety and perennial
abundance. The canning of the Gull
shrimp is, attracting attention, and the
business is increasing The extensive oys.
ter beds along the Southern coast and
bayous invite enterprise. The size and
flavor of these oysters are unsurpassed.
Some of them are so large that they are
not merchantable to the saloon keepers,
who buy by the barrel and sell by the
dozen.
The principal factories in the State are
sugar mills and refneries cotton gins and
factories, cotton seed oil mills, saw mills,
foundries and machine shops, tobacco and
moss factories. There is only one jute
factory in New Orleans.
There is ample room and great demand
for more extensive factories of all kinds.
Railroad building is active and extensive
in the State, and the demand for labor In
their construction is great.
Louisiana has some of the finest mill
streams in the world, which never freeze.
These streams are bordered with the finest
cotton, which is stripped as "Orleans. y
Vegetables and grass, for man and beast,
remain green all the year round, and
truck farming, even in the rather slovenly
way it is now carried on, pays about ten
per cent.
More ought to be done, too, with Span
ish moss than is now. The woods yield
an annual crop of this moss, the gathering
of which affords profitable employment to
men, women and children, and thousands
c'.Asles are annually shipped North and
West to furniture and mattress factories.
Here is another industry that affords a
promising opportunity for the investment
of capital in the State. The moss grows
wild and may be had for the picking.
/ The clear water of many streams are
Pronounced by experts to be unsurpassed
r paper manufacture. There are many
olher clear water streams affording power,
which pe1meate the whole State.
There are other products of the State
that are now but little cultivated, but
which, if we mistake rot, will in the years
to come make the fortunes Of many. Chief
among these are fibrous plants, jute,
ramie, and possibly flax and aloes. The
two former grow like a weed, and the lat
ter would, no doubt, do so also. 1t is a
well known fact that the great expense
hitherto attending the cultivation and
handling of all fibrous plants was the
enormous expense of the process in vogue
for extracting the FIBRE The government
of India has, or had very lately, stand
ing reward of $25, 900 for the best machine
or process for extracting the fibre from
aloes, for as most people know aloe fibre
is the strongest known. Lately machine
has been invented here that appears to
possess all the necessary requirements,
and we have seen jute and ramie fibre pre-
pared with this machine which will COM
pare rore than favorably with any pre-
pared by means of the old process.
1t is one of the enigmas of this country
why industries so simple as the growing
and manufacturing of flax and hemp and
jute and ramie should not long ago have
been among the great staple pursuits of
the people of this co, airy. The only rea-
son assigned is that the Aemand for fbres
has been supplied by the cheap, abundant
cotton, by wool and by silk, to the manu-
facture of which attention was by chance
NOR d particularly directed. The demand
for linen has not been great but such as
it was it would seem to have interested
somebody in this country, but as yet no
linen manufacturer exists. Hemp is
readily grown all over the country, but
aside from some coarse yarns and twines
and rope, it's manufacture has little value.
Jute is coarser, less valuable fibre,
more abundantly and cheaply grown, and
furnishing coarse bagging, twines and
carpeting, and coarse household goods,
and from it's readiness to take colors is
largely used to mix with and adulterate
cosrser fbres.
Ramie possesses strength, silky glossy
appearance, is capable of being made next
to silk in value as material for fine goods
and is produced quite extensively in the
East Indies and worked up largely il
France 1t is indigenous in China, Japar
and Assam, and is known as the China
nettle. These fbres are readily grown il
Louisiana, especially In the moist low
lands where other products do not readily
thrive. The ramie plant will yield at leas
three crops annually, producing from
thirteen to fourteen tons, each acre o.
stems from four to five feet high. This
if properly treated, should give 100t
pounds of fibre, worth $500 the ton, at ,
total cost of $500 for the preparation
There need be no fear of being unable t.
sell all that can be possibly raised. TIT
consumption of both jute and ramie il
enormous, and new uses are constantly de
handing fresh supplies. A French firm
lately offered to buy 10000 tons of rami
month. The orders for jute are mucl
larger. 1t requires vastly greater quaint
ties of jute than of ramie to satisfy com
mercial needs.
According to Professor Waterhouse
who is an expert on the subject
the cultivation of jute and ramie ough
to yield the South an annual in
come of $150,000,000 to 5000, 1000, 600
These figures are based on cautions est
mates and careful examination of tn
statistics of textile production in India an
China. Louisiana has a larger availabl
area than that which Oriental lands hav
ever yet devoted to the culture of jut
and ramie and yet the annual value of tn
fbrous products of india and China is ia
more than $10O,000,000. These fact
show that in this one industry alone Lou
isiana possesses vast possibilities of futur
wealth in textiles. The plants grow wit
no .,lr In and CON 81 in haiuht On