The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1894-08-17

WaSte places OF tne 6treetS In nearly
every village and town. also found
it thriving In the lanes and along the
roadside of the forest lands In the
Tertiary formation, or Glow country"
of South Carolina, where clay sub
soil prevails, and wherever there was
moisture as well ns clay lin shallow
ditch, for instanccj each separate sprig
of thick growing Sida was 8, 4, and
sometimes or 6 feet high. One strik
ing popularity of the plant is that II
single sprig growing by itself will
bunch, or rather branch out from tn
stem just above ground, 30 as to re
semble n squntty thickct of many short
limbed shrubs only one root,
howevcr-but when tho sprig grows
plants are straight and without limbs,
or knots. on the stems, except at the
very top, md ns tough as hickory,
lockwood, or perhaps any other wood.
The popular name of S. rhombifoii0
in Lower Carolina is "Tca Plant" and
there arc millions of acres Of land with
clay subsoil i'll TINT section Of tho Stat
we'll adapted to its growth, much o.
which can be chcaply irrigated if nee
cssary in case the plant should prov
commercially useful as fiber yiclder
About this time it WAS learhed tha'
Mr.. Volney Dnnning, cf Atlanta, Gu,
mad been experimenting with the Sid
for its fiber. and IN interesting cor
tespondente followed. Seed of Sid,
rcfusa was imported by him from
Australia in March, 1890, and p1nntc
in April. The seed was nearly 81
weeks in terminating, and the plant.
grew very slowly during the next siI
weeks after making their appearance
Their growth was rapid in August an,
September, however, and some gooG
stalks, measuring almost 8 feet j
length, were obtained. No fiber from
these stalks was received by the De
partment, although lot of the stalk,
were shown in the fiber collection o
tile Department ut the Chicago Ex
position. In communication to Mr.
Dunning from the Technologicn!
Museum, Sidney, some interesting
statements regarding this species mr.
made the plant being called "Paddy
Lucerne. Extracts are az follows.
Paddy Luccrne just rs frequently
goes by the name ofQucensland hemp,
and is fast becoming noxions weed
in the coastal districts of New South
Wales and Queensland, although il
thrivcs most in the warmer attitudes.
i. e., ms fer south Gs Richmond and
Florence. It's botanical name Is .Sidu
MonJifDtia rCfusa), Linn, and il
belongs to the natural order Mairaccp,
a natural order notorious for the num-
Der of useful tibcrs it contains. The
fiber is somewhat like jute, but it ap-
pears even superior to that wcll-known
article. One plant is closely allied to
the Smfct Bariaia of India (.Sida
rhomboidu, Roxb.), the fiber of which
was described as "dclicate fax-likc
libcrs of great strength" 1t appears
to be in every respect superior to jute.
The better known tihcrs of India
Rosclla hemp, (ITjjScHs soddariHa)
and Ambarcc or Brown hemp (H can.
nabinuS) are both of them closely nj.
lied to our fiber, and the plants flour
ish in similar situations.
The plant in Queensland grows from
3 to 6 feet in hight, and the value of
the fiber has been stated from $3.50 to
5000 per ton. S. roi'tsa is one Of the
varities of S. rhomhifOii0, of Linn, six
being recognized in India. Another
variety which has been experimental
with in India with good results is the
S. rhombOilca. 1t has been demon
strntcd by experiment in that country
that Sida fiber is superior to jutc, that
under hydrolysis, or bleaching and
cleaning with alkali, cit loses very
much smaller proportion of its weight
is therefore less easily disintcSrated by
the action of water. and Is consequent
ly more durable" The fact that its
stalks are not more than half the
length TOR sizc) of jutc is II disadvant-
age, compared with jutc, rs indicating
much smaller yield. George Watt,
of the Revenue and Agricultural De-
partment Of India, was of the opinion,
regarding the Indian experiments, that
the properties of the Sidn fiber recon.
mcnded it rs worthy all the time and
expenditure necessary to ascertain n
whether or not all it's advantages are
countcrbnlanced, from the money
standpoint, by less acreage in yield.
Thirty years ago the fiber of "Sufcf
bay1aid" Is. rhOmbOtijd"U, MS pro-
duced in India, was considered worth
from S25 to $50 more per ton than
jute.
In n report on the Colonial and In
dim Exhibition of 1896 tbc spccinl