Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-05-29
A Fiber from Cotton Stalks.

uSaihS9 ~ VIC poWeflul II FARMERS Alll-
ance, now numbering, it is claimed,
over two million members in the
South and West. When the trust
was first formed, the price COR bag
ging was advanced from scvon to
twelve md fourteen cents yard,
though the price since then has fallen
very much from the latter figures.
The Southern planters requiring bag
ging for their cotton made up their
minds on no &C, cunt to make any
purchases from the jutc bagging trust,
and some of them, in order to keep
this VOW, have used other bagging
which cntailcd a net loss Of dollar
on every bale sent to market The
high price of jutc bagging, as well
as the bitter war between the plant.
crs and the trust, have greatly stimu-
lated the production of substitutes.
Pine needles, bear grass, palmetto,
and Spanish bayonet tibcrs have all
been employed, but tho product has
been far from satisfactory. The bag.
ging made from pine needles has
been moro extensively used, perhaps,
than any other, but it is apt to stain
the cotton, and it tears easily. Cot.
ton shceting is used, but this also is
not strong enough, and the insur-
ancc companies object to it as not
offering sufficient protection to the
cotton in case of fire. As further
indication of the desperate shifts to
which planters have rcsortcd rather
than use iutc bagging, it may be said
that cotton has been received in New
York balcd with willow sticks and
iron hoops, so that it was necessary
to open the bale with an AK.
Reliable adviccs from Augusta,
Ga, recently received seem to ndi.
cate that the want Of a satisfactory
substitute for jutc bagging has been
met by producing Il fiber from cot
ton stalks. Mr.. William f. jack
SON, lawyer Of Augusta, has given
good deal &C time and attention to
developing the process. lie com
mcnccd experimenting with a ma
chine patented to produce certain
South American fbcrs by running
cotton stalks through il and then
submitted tho fiber to Il car,linu
machine, and the result was m arli
Gle which closely resembles what is
known as !jutc butt yanlis. Mr..
Jackson then sent Il bale Of this
material to a bagging factory at
Paterson, n. j., and proceeded
thither himself, and the bageinr
which was produced under his dircc-
ton has been declared to be IN en-
ccllcnt article.
a detailed description of the pro-
cess by which the fiber has been
obtained cannot be given at this
time, but it is known that the bark
is removed from the stalks by means
of Il breaker. 1t is said, however,
that the bark can also be stripped
off by hand, or the stalks NAV 90
through the machine in their natu-
raj state, and the rollers will lo the
work just as thoroughly. The main
feature Of the iibcr-producing ma
chine consists in the forward and
backward movement OF the rollers,
winch action 81 naratcS the fiber while
the water I'm, ,rncalh washes out
the & .uc. The advocates of the new
process claim that they can pay 50
Il ton for cotton stalks delivered at
railroad stations, and make from
them bagging which can be sold at
= cents a yard, a price at which
they claim jutc bagging cannot he
manufactured at a profit. The mti-
Gle produced from cotton fiber weighs
about two and Il quarter pounds to
the yard, and the average require
mcnt for a bale is seven yards.
~ cotton exporter recently stated
that the bagging made from cotton
stalks which he had examined re-
scmblcd iutc SO closely that even n
person who was accustomed TO hand
ling cotton would not readily detect
the difference. 1t will not stain the
cotton, and will show marks easily.
1t is said that the annual yield OF
stalks will produce bagging sufficient
TO bale three ycarl y crops OF cotton.
Should the new fiber stand the
test OF general use, it is easy to soc
that new and extensive industry
has been opened up. Cotton stalks
have heretofore been considered n
nuisance by planters, but if they can
be made into baggng for the bailinc
OF cotton, a great step in advance
will be made. No one dreamed =