The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-13
THE PALMETTO.
How It's Fiber May be Made Into Sub
stitute for Jute.

stitute for Jute.
C. B. Wdrrand in the Manufacturers Reco, d.
SAVANNAH, GA.-Can the United States
produce substitute for jute which will be
able, not alone to compete in quality and
price, but which can also be produced in
sufficient quantities to supply the demand
has been a problem which is OF much i'm
portance to the southern cotton planter, to
the western farmer and to manufacturers
every where.
In order to find such substitute it must
be grown so cheaply that the cost of pro-
duction of the raw material is next to moth
ing, so as to compete with East India labor,
earning daily wages of 81 cents; it must be
from reliable source and abundant
enough to induce capital TO provide the
necessary plants to put the raw material in
merchantable state; the product must be as
good and even better in its leading quail
ties; the raw material must be available at
all times of the year. 80 as to avoid storing
expenses, fire Insurance and loss of interest,
which all would swell the cost OF produc-
ton.
All these requirements could only be
found in a plant of spontaneous growth
which Is capable of reproducing the supply
from year to year without much care, cost
of cultivation or grown on expensive land
The saw palmetto has evidently all these
requirements ana is strictly iinrous plant
it was left to human Ingenuity and inven-
ton to render the same available to COM
merce.
The majority Of trials and experiments
were made with pureiys me hanieal means
and the result was either a failure or the
product N of some article Of secondary OF
tertiary commercial importance. Plaster
ing fbcr. upholstering and bedding mate.
rial. or ships felt and brush fiber, were the
results, which, as a rule, paid the manu-
facturer a handsome profit and aided &C
demonstrate The value Of saw palmetto as G
fiber plant, but they failed to produce q
substitute for jute.
The writer took a very different view
from the majority, who tried to solve the
problem. 70 accomplish the decortication
of palmetto by purely mechanical means Is
utterly impossible, as the amount of sill
cate which the palmetto contains is toe
great to ever produce a flexible fiber or O
fiber which will felt and which can lie spun
besides, the hard glossy shield covering the
leaf and stems Is so alosely intermingled
with the fiber that the one cannot be re-
moved by mechanical means without par
TALLY destroying the other.
1t was clearly problem for chemistry ia
solve before mechanical skill would be OF
any avail. AS result OF numerous expert
ments the caustic-soda process seemed &c
accomplish all that could be wished. BY
steaming the palmetto in caustic soda the
silicate is changed to slicRte Of soda. which
is soluble; the hard glossy shield becomes O
soft, gummy soap, which can be easily re-
moved by mechanical means passing the
material through rollers and masceration
will have the desired effect and produce an
excellent fiber.
By satiating the liquid part with quick
limo and boiling the same the silicate OF
soda is changed to sllicate of lime, which is
insoluble. and the gummy soda combina-
tons also take kindly to the lime and are
precipitated as lime compounds, leaving the
caustic soda in the solutions, which can be
used over and over again with small addi-
tons of caustic soda. One dollar per ton
will more than cover the cost Of lime and
loss of soda.
The fiber produced by this process has the
same color as jute; while 1t is shorter in sta
pie, it is much stronger hence lghter-weight
bagging and Irvine will accomplish the same
purpose. Palmetto fiber is not by any
means as intlammable as iute. While II
will eventually burn, still a spark or fame
will only scorch it; it will not harbor a lin
gering fire like jute. Neither does the pal
metto fiber stain like pine-straw fiber. The
fiber felts readily, and can be spun with
ease.
One ton of green palmetto produces about
One-third Of Its weight IN foer. or about
600 pounds. Assuming that the cost OF
palmetto is SIS per ton and the cost Of soda
and lime 81 per ton, the cost Of the material
would he So for 6O0 pounds of fiber, or S21
per ton.
Attn time that the patent was granted
for this process jute butts were selling at
S25 per ton, leaving only a margin OF S.
per ton for manufacturing expenses and
profit. At that time, while it was tech
ntcal success in every way, it was CONNER
cially failure.
Since then the discovery Of the value of
palmetto for tanning purposes was made,
rendering the fiber a by-product costing
practically nothing. Thus the only obstacle
In the way OF success was removed, making
the available margin so great that in Q
never will be able to compete il this new
industry is once thoroughly established.
Even the cheap East India labor subsisting
on pint Of rice and one rat~tail day iii
probably have to look for some other mar
ket than the United States to dispose of
their product.
A number of causes within the last two
years have caused the prices Of 1nte TO rise
very much. A short Jute crop, q large cot
ton crop, new demands which have been
filled by jute, all have had their effect in
raising the price, and 1t is doubtful IL the
prices will be ever as low as they were some
years ago. The repeal of tho duty on lutte
would have some effect, but the margin in
favor OF palmetto is 50 great that there il
practically no danger Of competition in the
future.
The supply of palmetto is so vast as to be
practically unlimited. The demand for it's
products, tannio acid and fiber, is 80 great
that no Cutting of the market is possible.
The combination OF the production of two
staple articles at one operation is 80 adven-