The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-11-22
TO BEAT THE PAPER TRUST.
The Inexhaustible Scrub Palmetto May
 Rival Wood Pulp.

The Inexhaustible Scrub Palmetto May
 Rival Wood Pulp.
 The saw palmetto, of "sabal serru-
 late" as the scientists call 1t, is indi. I genous to the soil of South Carolina l Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi 1 and Louisiana, in the tidewater sec- tions and just beyond. It is an ex- tremely hardy and vigorous growth. | Once it's roots are set in a soil they can | be removed only by the most industri- | ous and thorough grubbing. In very
 many places the palmetto scrub covers whole flats" of many acres with an | almost impossible barrier of tangled | undergrowth.
 Until within the very recent past the saw palmetto has been looked upon as
 an unmitigated nuisance. The cost of clearing an acre of land of the growth was often much greater than the price of a dozen acres of the rough. Lately however, the plant has been receiving l more consideration. It has been dis covered that the saw palmetto is both a
 source of health and of wealth, and the
 probabilities are that al day not far in the future it will be adding largely
 to the prosperity of these sections
 which formerly cut it down and cast it into the fire. The medicinal properties
 of it have been found very valuable in the treatment of kidney and other trou-
 bles, and various proprietary medicines manufactured from the saw palmetto
 are now finding their way into the markets.
 The roots are rich in tannic acid
 Several factories for extracting the acid are already in operation in Flori- da, and others are projected. Leather tanned with acid from the palmetto is said to be equal, if not superior, to the best oak or hemlock-tanned stock. As the palmetto costs hardly more than the gathering, acid from it can he pro- duced at less cost than from any other source. The market for it, therefore, is safe. For manufac turing such articles as baskets, mats, hats, etc, it would seem that there ought to be great field for the palmetto, It was exten- sively made use of during the war of secession by the women of the south in making such articles, and it is safe to say that the thousands of the articles made then are in serviceable condition to-day, so durable is the material.
 One of the most important uses for which the saw palmetto is available however, is the making of paper. In various parts of Asia, it is said, paper has been made from this stock for many years, and so cheaply that not even our wood-pulp paper has been able to compete with it. Lately fac tory for making paper from the saw palmetto has been established at Pen sacola and its product is said to be very good in quality and strong in tex ture. There is a great and increasing 1 demand for a satisfactory substitute for wood pulp in paper-making The forests are being rapidly 'denuded with out adequate steps for their reproduc- tion being taken. Besides, ~he wood | pulp business is now controlled by gi- | gantic trust, which is in a position to | consumers at will. The pal | metto flats would furnish an inexhaust- 1 ible supply of paper stock, since so long as the roots are in the ground the tops | will be abundantly reproduced The | tops may be cut off every year with the | positive assurance that another full | crop will be forthcoming the next sea- son. Harvesting palmetto for paper manufacture does not destroy the pro- ducing stock John H. Stephens of | Jacksonville is authority for the state ment that the saw palmetto will make the finest and best paper in the world That being true, we ought to have paper mills in many parts of south Georgia and Florida within a few years.-Savannah News.