JUTE-CULTURE. 291 



Neaily half a century ago some sagacious Scotchmen engaged in the 

 manufacture of jute. Their humble experiment has developed into a 

 success that has enriched Scotland and promoted the commerce of the 

 world. 



At first many difficulties arrested their progress. Much of the fiber 

 was discolored by the tannic acid of the bark through improper methods 

 of preparation ; and it was only after years of persistent effort that a 

 successful process of bleaching was discovered. 



Again, the fiber stubbornly resisted the action of dye-stuffs, and over 

 this difficulty chemical science has yet only iDartially triumphed. Jute 

 can now be dyed, but the colors are not fast. Still the variety of tints 

 now imparted to jute permits it to be combined with other materials in 

 cheap imitation of many valuable fabrics. 



Jute is mixed with cotton, linen, and silk. It is a material part of 

 twilled stair-carpeting and low-priced broadcloth. In combination with 

 other textiles, it imitates the gloss of Irish linen, the luster of French 

 silk, the beauty of Turkish rugs, and the splendor of Axmiuster, Kid- 

 derminster, Brussels, and Venetian carpets. Single or mixed, it enters 

 into the manufacture of a thousand articles of commerce. In 1872, there 

 were in Dundee about one hundred jute-mills, employing upward of 

 20,000 workmen, and manufacturing more than 180,000,000 pounds of 

 jute annually. In the same year nearly 50,000,000 gunny-bags — most 

 of which were made in Dundee — were exported from Great Britain. Of 

 the 300,000,000 pounds of jute that were manufactured in the United 

 Kingdom in 187C, 200,000,000 pounds were woven in the mills of Dun- 

 dee. The annual value of the flax, hemp, and jute manufactured in 

 Dundee is now $15,000,000. The jute factories of Dundee have created 

 a flourishing city, given employment to thousands of workmen, diffused 

 prosperity throughout a large community, promoted the commerce of 

 Scotland in the importation of the raw material and the exportation of 

 the manufactured product, and facilitated the movement of the cotton 

 and grain crops of the world. 



What has been so successfully accomplished in Dundee can be done 

 with a still grander success in the United States. 



We not only can spin and weave the fiber, but V7e can also raise it. 



AVe not only can derive the profits of making the fabrics, but we can 

 also enrich ourselves by the twofold economies of the growth and man- 

 ufacture of the staple. 



Under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, experiments in 

 the culture of jute have been successfully tried in South Carolina, Florida, 

 Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These trials conclusively established 

 the fact that, wherever in the Southern States there is a hot, damp cli- 

 mate, and a moist soil of sandy clay or alluvial mold, jute can be prof- 

 itably raised. It is probable that much of the laud now devoted to the 

 growth of cotton, rice, and sugar-cane would yield larger returns if 

 applied to the culture of jute. The plant matures in this country in 

 about the same time that it does in India. The April plantings were 

 cut in July, and the June ])lantings were cut in September. Some of 

 the stalks reached the height of 15 feet, and in some instances the fiber 

 was, according to the judgment of experts, superior in strength to that 

 of India. 



The yield was in several cases at the rate of 3,500 pounds to the acre. 

 These facts, so familiar to the Department of Agriculture are here 

 repeated for the information of those who have not seen the results of 

 the experiments inaugurated by it. The trials that have been made 



