The Washington herald., 1909-05-21
ABANDONED INDUSTRIES.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN

ed. principally in the West. Expensive
factories were built TO convert its Juice
irto sugar. The United States govern
ment fell a victim 20 the craze. Il took
the country thirty years 10 recover its
equilibrium after Il was discovered that
sorghum could not be depended upon 20
make sugar. The sorghum crop has been
dwindling steadily for a number OF years
and nearly all that is raised is used for
cattle feed
The rise OF King Cotton and TIE ever
present labor problem are chiefly respon-
s.ble for the decline and almost total dis
appearance Of the fax and hemp indus
tries 81 this country. IN the days Of our
Erandfathers. and even OF our fathers.
nearly every family raised its own sup
ply Of fax and herlp. which was con-
verted into clothing. cordage. &c. on the
place Many thousand acres Of fax and
hemp were cultivated between the Allan
tic Ocean and the Mississippi River
Years ago II became apparent that Il
would be cheaper 10 import hemp and
fax from abroad than 70 pay high wages
70 American wOrkingmen in those indus
tries. while their foreign competitors
we're receiving q few cents a day in Rus
sia. Ireland. and other countries. Jute
produced for a few cents a pound In IN
cia Is being widely substituted fOT hemp.
Cotton Is produced much cheaper than
linen and hemp and Is better adapted 20
modern machine methods OF manufacture.
A. present the cultivation of hemp has
practically ceased everywhere except in
Kentucky, while only a comparatively
few acres Of fax are cultivated in Michi-
gan, the Dakotas. and one or Two other
States for seed production
Two important Indian industries have
been tried by the white men. but not
found commercially practicable The wild
Tice OF Minnesota and Wisconsin feeds
5000 Indians. but the white man knows
II not. In Oregon there are thousands OF
acres OF water lilies covering stretches OF
shallow water and marsh land from
which the Indians obtain a delectable
seed for food This has been put on the
market. but II has failed 20 sell Many
native wild berries and fruits. long IA
miliar TO the Indians, formerly constitut-
ed the bases Of more or less extensive
industries among the whites. but have
long since been abandoned. Such was
the fate Of the baybeTry wax industry OF
New England
The tea industry in the United States
is said by the Agricultural Department
10 be hanging on by its eyelids. f1gUTa-
lively speaking. The competition OF cheap
foreign labor is endangering !ts life, al
though the superior quality OF the South
Carolina product has so far saved IL.
The average wholesale price OF tea is z
cents a pound. and the American pro-
ducer viii have 10 meet that price IN the
end unless he gets a protective tariff
During the eos there was an exten9ve
peat Industry along the Atlantic coast
which has practically been abandoned
Al the time il fiOurished coal mining was
at a standstiII on account Of the war
Now peat IS only used locally for fuel and
fertilizer There is an inexhaustible sup
ply OF this product IN bogs and swamps
covering many millions OF acres Per-
haps the peat industry viii be revived
when coal has become scarce.
IN the animal kingdom one OF the most
Interesting OF abandoned American indus
tries is the breeding Of camels. Two ship
loads OF these animals were imported by
the government under Secretary Of War
Jefferson Davis in 1856 and 1857 for milf
tary uses on the Western plains and des-
erts. The animals were placed in Texas
and California, but proved of little use.
The last Of them was sold ar auction in
1866 though some are said to have grown
wild
The breeding OF the famous Conestoga
draft horse, used in Pennsylvania to haul
heavy loads across the mountains before
the days Of the railroad. was utterly
abandoned many years ago. To prevent
The Morgan horse. the ideal American
carriage strain, from becoming extinct
the government has recently begun breed
ing them in Vermont Malta milk goats
We're formerly raised here. but the enter
prise has been given up on account OF q
peculiar disease contracted by the AMI
mails. The breeding OF the Vermont me-
rino sheep, which had a very wrinkied
skin bearing as much as fifty pounds OF
wool, has almost ceased. A decade or
more ago the Belgian hare was exteu-
siyely bred and millions were invested in
the industry Now it is Of no commercial
importance whatever
In the nature OF side lines in abandoned
animal industries are beaver hat making
and the horse meat business. Formerly
q
beaver skins. When the animals became
scarce beaver hats were made OF silk,
and now that material Is preferred Ten
years ago Samuel Kinsmal. OF Linton,
Greg, did q thriving trade in horse meat
His product was shipped 10 Norway and
Denmark. He bought animals from the
Indians at $50 head, slaughtered them
IN government-inspecte abattoirs, and
packed the meat like South American
5erked beef. In 1900 he slaughtered $500
horses. but for some reason the industry
was abandoned IN 1903, when "a horses
were killed.
Copyright, 1903 BY FEeSie1io J. Haskinl
To- morrow Progress IN Dental
Science.