472 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



turned. When put in water, it should be kept constantly submerged with weights of some 

 kind. It will require from ten to twenty days to perfect the process, according to the tem 

 perature. 



When the fiber separates readily from the stalk, the process of rotting is completed. It 

 is then dried and stacked, after which it is broken and freed from the boon and waste 

 material, and packed in bales ready for market. 



JUTE. 



THAT jute can be profitably cultivated in this country, has been abundantly proved by 

 the numerous experiments that have been made during the last ten years, and which 

 have given most satisfactory results when the climate and soil selected for the pur 

 pose were those to which it is naturally adapted. 



The plant is a native of the East Indies, and will prove a most valuable addition to the 

 agricultural products of the extreme Southern States. The great demand for jute in this 

 country, as well as the price it commands, and the ease with which it may be grown, are strong 

 inducements in favor of its cultivation in those sections to which it is adapted. If its 

 cultivation could become sufficiently extensive to meet the demands of the American market 

 for this product, millions of dollars would be annually retained at home, that are now sent 

 abroad. At present, India is the main source of supply, and has been for a long time. 



A recent estimate of the annual value of the jute importation, was nearly ten millions of 

 dollars, while the demand is constantly increasing. Jute is an annual plant of the genus 

 Corchorus capsularis. It grows to the height of from ten to fifteen feet, the stalks being from 

 a half inch to an inch in diameter. They are very straight, and branch only at the top. The 

 leaves are about six inches long, two inches wide, and sharply serrated. The bark, like 

 that of the flax and hemp, is fibrous, the fiber being more soft and silky than that of either 

 of these products, also more fine in quality and of greater length. It is sometimes woven 

 with silk and cotton in the manufacture of certain kinds of dress goods. It is also used in 

 the manufacture of cheap carpets and almost every form of coarse textile fabrics, such as 

 gunny, a kind of cloth used in baling cotton, bagging, coffee-sacks, rice bags, etc. It wes 

 formerly used in making ropes, but has been found too easily affected by water to be desirable 

 for this purpose, hemp being preferred. 



The ends of the stems of the jute-plant are used in making paper of a coarse quality, as 

 well as the old sacks and bags made from the coarser jute fiber. The stems are used in the 

 manufacture of coarse baskets, etc., almost every part of the plant being appropriated to some 

 useful purpose, but, of course, the fiber is the object sought in its cultivation. It is said 

 that cotton fields surrounded by jute-plants are exempt from the ravages of the cotton- worm. 



Cultivation. Jute requires a warm climate, and a fertile soil. A moist, alluvial 

 soil, not too wet, or a sandy clay seems best adapted to it. Many of the Southern States, 

 especially the Gulf States, are admirably suited to its cultivation. California has also pro 

 duced jute successfully for several years. The land should be well prepared for the seed by 

 being thoroughly plowed and harrowed, and the soil, if not sufficiently rich, should be made 

 so by the application of manure or other fertilizers. The seed may be sown broadcast, or in 

 drills. When the former method is practiced, from thirty to thirty-five pounds per acre are 

 required ; the latter from fifteen to twenty pounds. When sown broadcast, the seed should 

 be harrowed in. In either case, the field should be rolled after the seed is deposited. The 

 plant is of strong and vigorous growth, and will require but little cultivation. 



