The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-05-08
The oKRA PLANT.
IL IL Likely To Take 1. Prominent Place /,
the Future.

IL Is Likely to Take I. Prominent Place in
the Future.
There seems to be II strong Droba-
bility that the plant known as okrn
(AbelmOschus csculcntus) will be
made to furnish Il valuable fiber. The
plant grows wild all through the
Southern States, and has been known
Tor years to farmers and stockmcn us
capable OF producing Il very strong
fiber, which i'll Texas and other local
! tiles Is now used for making lariats.
Ten years ago the Department Of
Agriculture had samples of the plant
grown Ill i'll its greenhouses, and u
report was made on the quality of the
fiber, but nothing seems to have como
of it. Recently, however, the subject
has been revived, and the Commits
sloncr of Agriculture of South Caro-
lima, Col. A. l.. Butler, seems to be
worry confident that II now industry
with vast possibilities is about to be
opened up. A specimen ofthe fiber
winch has been received from Mr..
Butler through the department ut
Washington shows Il long, strong and
glossy thread somewhat resembling
L
fruit which this olra plant produces
IL priced as vegetable, the mucila
glnous pods being uScI for th;ckcning
soup and to form peculiar Southern
dish called gumbo. Tn Southern
SOL Is especially adapted to growing
the plant, as The ubunuOncU rice fields
,tnd undraincd lands generally could
be utilized for raising vast Iunntitics
OF 1t. Okrn IL also " n1.ivr of the
West Indies, notably GunA, where it
grows IN almost all soils, and is in
digrnouH to Africa, where it grows
Wild. 1t Is tbunIlnI ON the White
Nile AMI near the Victoria Nynnza,
and has long been n.tturnllzrd in In
dla, where it is cultivated for its cdi
bic pods. The fiber which hs:; been
produced abroad is ,lcA,ribru as lonr
and silky and generally strong and
pliant, its breaking strain nccordiur
to RoXburE being seventy y-Iunc pounds
dry and nlncty-fivc pounds wet WhcA
well prepared, rs III tho Southern
Ircsldcncy OF India, 1t - adapted for
manufacture OF rope, twiIrr, Sncking
and pnpcr 1t il used to udulterntc
Illte IN Drrrn and Mymrnsing. In
Franco the manufacture of Dupcr
from the fiber is patented, and here it
receives only mechanical trcntmcnt
and produces II paper called banda,
which Is said to be equal to that made
from pure Tags.
1t IL clnlmcd for the Ollrn fiber,
that, lnasmuch rs the wood surrounds
the flDcr instead Of being mixed with
1t, rs III Jutc, and also that the work
or preparation can be done by ma.
chlncry, the cost OF production can be
reduced to one cent per pound. Jutc
can only be protitaply produced in
countries where manual labor is very
cheap, as III India and China, because
no machine has boen devised for sep
aratlng the wood from the fiber. Vast
quantities Of jute are imported by tho
United States, and it is used in max
ing ginny cloth, corClagc, shirting,
coat Innings, and it is extensively en-
ployed III mixing with silk, cotton and
woolcn fabrics, and in paper making.
1t IS believed that okra fiber cam be
substituted for jutc in the courScr of
these lines OF manufacture, and some
oven claim that it will be found avail
able wherever jute is new employed.
1t IS easily to be seen from this that
II the okra fiber stands the test Of
further experiment, u now and most
Important industry will spring into
beng. The Agricultural Department
at Washington states it has not vet
been determined how the plant will
bear cultivation and propagation, ind
tho department III now gathering the
seeds and roots to experiment with
next year. As the okra now grows
l,uXurlantly in all parts of the South,
the production of it even in the large
quantities which would be required
III case the tiUer comes into general
use will not probably prove Il serious
barl1er to progress III this direction,
while the well known inventive genius
OF Americans can be depended upon
to devise machinery for preparing the
hber, and to make constant improve
mcnts upon it.-St. Louis Home
,JOlumul