BOTANICAL, INDEX 
77 
now, since there must be a value attached to it and it can he so easily produced, it 
w ill make friends very fast. 
The demand for a coarse and strong fabric for making rope and cordage, hags for 
grain, sacks for enclosing bales of cotton, and to meet many similar wants, has in- 
stituted an earnest inquiry among producers, manufacturers and shippers, and many 
efforts have been made to utilize something produced at home, but all efforts have 
failed until M. Emile Le Franc, in connection with the New Jersey Bureau of Sta- 
tistics, discovered the long looked for article in the form of our Indian Mallow. 
But what is Jute? For although the name may be common enough, we venture the 
opinion that very few people know what it is. Jute is nothing more nor less than 
the fiber of two native plants of India resembling hemp, called Corcliorus (C. oliforius 
and C. capsular ies.) It is used very extensively in making Gunny Cloth, (another 
Indian name, and applied tcra large, coarse cloth sack, which the Hindoo fastens on 
their animals to carry grain in,) mats, coarse carpets, cordage, and frequently mixed 
linen for cloth, as well as carpets. It is estimated that the manufacturers of the 
United States import annually $10,000,000 worth of jute alone, all of which comes 
from Bengal. It must, of necessity, also take the place of some of the hemp, llax 
and ramia, in addition to jute, for which we pay $30,000,000 annually to other coun- 
tries. Of this quantity it requires about $4,000,000 annually to cover the bales of 
cotton, while the requirements to handle the grain crop, the wool, and numerous 
other products, is simply enormous. 
The culture of this plant, provided of course its manufacture in America is at- 
tended with success, will no doubt be cheaply and successfully accomplished, as the 
plant always seems to thrive under neglect, being usually found in fence corners 
or similar waste, but very fertile places. Of course the larger the stock, the more 
profitable will be its cultivation, provided the supply does not exceed the demand; 
and as the stocks usually grow about six or eight feet high without cultivation, we 
may safely add one-third more with only ordinary culture. We notice in a Phila- 
delphia paper that Messrs. LeFranc & Paliser offer through the New Jersey “Bu- 
reau of Statistics, Labor and Industry,” straight “Jute” stocks, not less than three 
or four feet in height, delivered at Camden, for $8.00 per ton. 
While we wish the enterprise success in the broadest sense of the word, we would 
not advise our readers to go crazy over it, and sow the seed of a great pest all over 
their farms, until they first know whether there will be a market for it when grown, 
for it produces an abundance of seed, and will spread with great rapidity when once 
it gets a foothold. 
Messrs. LeFranc & Paliser, of Philadelphia, and A. Stoner, Esq., of East Baton 
Rouge, La., have patented machines for manufacturing jute, and now it only re- 
mains for experienced workmen to successfully place the manufactured article on 
the market, and compete for a part of the millions of dollars paid for importing an 
article of no greater value. 
SOOT OX BOSES AGAIN. 
Collect some soot from a chimney or stove, where wood is used for fuel; put in- 
to an old pitcher, and pour hot water upon it. When cool, use it to water your 
plants every few days. The effect upon plants is wonderful in producing a rapid 
growth of thrifty leaves, and a great number of richly tinted roses . — Scientific 
American of May .31, 1819. 
AMEBIC AN SWEET SCENTED VIOLET. 
It is remarkable that though we have numerous species of violet in this country, 
very few are scented. The Viola primuhefolia is exceptionally sweet, and is worthy 
of the attention of llorists with a view to improvement. This species grow far 
North, having recent been found in Canada. — Gardener's Monthly. 
THE MOST NOBTIIEBN PLANT. 
Among the plants collected by Dr. Bessels on his Polar voyage we noted as among 
the most northern of the plants he collected is a small dwarf Poppy, Papaver nudi- 
caule, and a miniature Dandelion. The Poppy has been found beyond the eighty- 
third parallel of latitude, and is believed to be the most northern species hitherto 
found. If has yellow tlowers, and is quite large and showy for so small a plant. — 
Gardener' s Monthly. 
