FIBER CROPS 397 



become an established industry in America until some means of economically 

 extracting the fiber from the stalk has been devised. 



Jute is principally cultivated in Bengal, India, and is largely exported to 

 this country, being the cheapest fiber used in American textile manufacture, 

 and used more largely than any other, except cotton and sisal. It is usually 

 employed for cotton bale covering, bagging, twine, and carpets. When ex- 

 posed to moisture, fabrics made from jute soon lose their strength because 

 the material which cements the cells together is dissolved. The fiber in the 

 lower 5 to 25 inches of the stalk being coarse, is cut off and sold at an 

 inferior price under the name of jute butts, while the remainder of the 

 fiber finer, softer, and more easily spun is sold as jute fiber. 



IV. RAMIE 



501. RAMIE (Boehmeria nivea Gaud.) is a perennial shrub with herbaceous 

 shoots, belonging to the nettle family. It somewhat resembles hemp in gen- 

 eral growth and appearance. It is an inter-tropical plant, and grows readily 

 in the Gulf states where a good supply of moisture, coupled with thorough 

 drainage, is obtainable. It has been grown in this country in an experimental 

 way only. 



The plant may be propagated by seeds, cuttings, or division of roots. If 

 by seeds, the plants are started in hotbeds. Cuttings of the ripened wood, 

 including three buds, are set like willow cuttings, with the middle bud at the 

 surface of the ground. Propagation by division of the roots of the fully 

 matured plants is recommended for this country. The plants should be placed 

 about as thickly as the hills of maize. 



It has been grown in eastern Asia from remote times in a limited way. 

 The fiber is there extracted by hand by a slow and tedious process, and is 

 used for cordage and other coarse manufactures as well as for making textiles 

 of great fineness and beauty. It can never become an important industry 

 until some machine is brought into use which will economically extract the 

 fiber from its green, tough, and gummy bark. 



V. MANILA FIBER 



502. Manila Fiber or Abaca (Musa textilis Nee), usually 

 called manila hemp, is a hard or structural fiber coming from 

 one or more perennial species belonging to the same genus as 

 the common banana, and which occur only in restricted areas 

 in the Philippines. The plant requires abundant rainfall, a 

 moist atmosphere and a well-drained soil. 



The plants are propagated from suckers or seeds, chiefly the 

 former, set in hills five to eight feet apart. They require no cul- 



