Excerpt from Fibrilia, a Practical and Economical Substitute for Cotton: Embracing a Full Description of the Process of Cottonizing Flax, Hemp, Jute, China Grass, and Other Fiber, So That the Same May Be Spun or Woven Upon Either Cotton or Woolen MachineryThe agricultural interests of any country become the more important when the questions of life become narrowed down to a bare individual subsistence: the manufacturing interest comes next, and then the mercantile. All three of these seem insepa rably connected, and no one of them should be so overstrained as to lose its balance for such causes as have produced the recent distress in the public mind. The soil of every State in the Union is equal to the production of sufficient bread and meat for the support of its inhabitants, if properly cultivated and the mechanical advantages and appliances of each are sufficient to manufacture for all of its requirements: these interests, united, will create a commerce adequate to the support of the others.The Northern States have neglected agriculture too much, and perhaps have pressed manufactures and commerce too far for a permanent success, in view of purchasing their raw material from without their own limits. A drain of from twelve to fourteen millions of dollars annually, from one State to another, is a large sum, and must produce a disjointure of some of the ele ments of prosperity sooner or later. An equilibrium should be maintained in every section of country, State or Nation, without which confusion in some shape will follow the course of trade.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.