The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-07-19
||NAKECANEBRAKE5
SOURCE | OF WEALTH ' [: II
Tests Made by Bureau Of Plant
Industry Show That Laths
IyfaysBe Made OF Cane.
NEW WOOD PULP MATERIAL
Successful Experiments in the
Making Of Paper from Fibre
Not Heretofore Used.
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Times Dispatch Bureau,
WASHINGTON. ID q. Jtllv is.

ss5f. f1t u Washington, = -. c., July ~.
Successful demonstration of substt
4 tute for ordinary yellow pine laths vii
make land upon which reed materia
B grows bring SIS an acre. In othel
words, modern discovery has created Il
Bprofitable demand for the cnnebrakes
that flourish along the streams of the
South. The utilization Of care for
making laths has been demonstrated
by tests made under the auspices of
the Bureau Of Plant Industry. Depart
8,nent of Agriculture, and Dr. Gallo
way, chief Of the bureau. is snnguine
f of great results in the matter of CIV
ing commercial value to Southern
material which annually goes to waste.
He said that experiments to dis
cover substitute for yellow pine lath
had their origin in the necessity OF
getting Something just as good ut
considerably less cost. The price OF
6laths-s5 thousand--Dr. Galloway
declared was an increase of loo per
cent, and the growing scarcity Of
yellow pine would keep up the price.
Foreign companies, he said. had
some time ago utilized the reeds that
grow IN n,arshy places in the making
of laths.
Wants to Hear From Owners.
"What we desire most right now"
continued Dr.. Galloway. us for the
owners of reed lands to communicate
with the Bureau of Plant Industry.
Until we demonstrated that a good
lath can be made from certain kind
of cane. or reed. We were under the
impression that all the material that
we might desire lay within easy reach
But we were mistaken. The average
man will say that canebrakes are
everywhere along Southern streams;
yet when an effort Is made to locate
them there Is another story to tell
We want the exact location of these
5canebrakes and how they may be
reached. Obviously It is to the In
ierest Of the owners of such material
10 give us the Information. The dis
ccvery will result in considerable profit
To the owners of Southern swamp
lands
Thus far the department has OBJ
itained all the cane used in the making
of laths from the swamps along the
Potomac. hut the magnitude of the in
dustry will soon eXhaGst this supply
and fresh sources must be opened up.
As already stated, 1t is only certain
fully substituted for yellow pine. For-
itunately. however this quality OF cane
is common There is no demand for
the large or pole cane.
wood-Pnlp Material.
In addition to the practical discov-
cry of an efficient substitute for yell
Industry is conducting successful ex-
periments in the king OF paper from
materials other than the wood-pulp
now used 1t has been demonstrated
that common poplar. which grows along
rivers and smaller streams. makes a
snlendid substitute for spruce pulp.
Other soft woods have been found de-
sirable. In addition. gratifying tests
In the utilization of cornstalks. several
kinds OF grasses, flax and rice straw,
and cotton stalks. The whole question
now Is. can pulp be substituted
cheaper than the material used In pa
per-making at present? If SO. expert
ments now being conducted will revo-
lutionize the paper-making industry.
Thus far the Bureau of Plant Industry
has established only the fact that there
are substitutes for the pulp now used
to make paper.
But the question of the desirability
of attempting to develop these dis
coveries to drive the present material
out Of the field of utility with view
to cheapening the price OF paper In
wolves considerations. that the bureau
officials are .not .prepared to discuss as
practical men.
Without reference to the paper trust
Y DR., Galloway. Chief Of the Bureau OF
Plant Industry, stated that he did not
4 expect to see the cost of paper cheap
ened,-even the utilization of any one
or all of the other materials which!
cxperimentation had demonstrated were
efficacious would keep this point oh.
Ecnred for time at least But expert.
Z ments are being made nearly every
day in the hope of getting at the ques:
ton which lies at the root of the whole
proposition, namely. the cost of tho
substitute pulp for the wood-pulp now
used
BRING HIM TO VIRGINIA.