The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-07-22
MONEY IN CANE BRAKES.
REEDS EXCELLENT SURSTITTrTU
FOR YELLOW PINE LATHs

partment of Agriculture Jnd,oa.o
That Lands Heretofore Considered
Almost Worthless May Really
Prove Very Valuable.
washington, July 19.-SuccessfuI
demonstration of a substitute for or.
binary yellow pine laths will make
land upon which reed material grows
oring SIS an acre. In other words
modern discovery has rendered pro-
ftaNle the cane brakes that flourish
along the streams Of the South. The
utilization Of cane for making laths
has been demonstrated by tests made
under the auspices Of the bureau Of
plant industry department Of agri-
culture, and DR.. Galloway, chief Of
the bureau, is sanguine OF great re-
suits IN the matter Of giving COM
mercial value to Southern material
which annually goes to waste. He
says that experiments to discover
substitute for yellow pine laths had
their origin In the necessity of get
ting something "just as good" at con-
siderably less cost The price of
larths-$5 per thousand-Dr. Gallo
way says is an increase Of $50 per
cent. and the growing scarcity of
yellow pine would keep up the price.
Foreign companies, he says, some-
time ago utilized the reeds that grow
IN marshy places in the making Of
laths.
What We desire most right now"
continued DR.. Galloway, 'is for the
owners Of reed lands to communicate
with the bureau Of plant industry.
Until we demonstrated that a good
lath could be made from a certain
kind Of can, or reed, we
were under the impression that
all the material that we might
desire lay within easy reach
| But we were mistaken. The aver
age man will say that cane brakes are
everywhere along Southern streams,
but when an effort is made to locate
| them there is another story to tell
We want the exact location Of these
cane brakes and how they may be
| reached. Obviously, it Is to the inter-
est Of the owners Of such material to
give us the information. The dis
covery will result in considerable
| lands.
"Thus far the department has OBJ
tanned all the cane used in the maxi
ing OF laths from the swamps along
| the Potomac, but the magnitude Of
the industry will soon exhaust this
| supply and fresh sources must be
opened up. AS already stated it is
only certain quality Of cane that can
be successfully substituted for yell
low pine. Fortunately, however, this
quality Of cane Is common. There is
no demand for the large or pole cane.
I'm additional to the practical dis
covery Of an efficient substitute for
yellow pine laths the bureau Of plant
industry is conducting successful ex-
periments In the making of paper
from amterials other than the wood
pulp now used. It has demonstrated
that common popular which grows
| along rivers and smaller streams.
makes a splendid substitute for
spruce pulp. Other soft woods have
been found desirable. In addition,
gratifying tests in the utilization Of
corn stalks, several kinds Of grasses,
flax and rice straw and cotton stalks
have been made. The whole question
| now Is. can pulp be substituted
| cheaper than the material used in
paper making at present? If so, ex-
periments now being conducted will
revolutionize the paepr making in
dustry. Thus for the bureau Of plant
industry has established only the fact
that here are substitutes for wood
pulp now used to make paper. But
the question Of the desirabiity Of at
| tempting to develop these discoveries
to drive the present material out Of
the field Of utility-with a view Of
cheapening the price Of paper would
| involve considerations that the bu-
reau officials are not prepared to
| discuss as practical men," Without
reference to the paper trust DR.. CAL
loway says that he does not expect to
see the cost Of paper cheapened-that
even the utilization Of any or all Of
the other materials which experiment
tatiOn has demonstrated were efffca-
cious would keep this point obscured
for time at least. But experiments
are being made nearly every day in
the hope Of getting at the question
u,hioh 1foc OF Tho rook Of tho ,,,Ao,