Part 2

Both species are cultivated in India, not only on account of their fibre, but also for the sake of their leaves, which are there extensively used as a pot-herb. The use of _C. olitorius_ for the latter purpose dates from very ancient times, if it may be identified, as some suppose, with the mallows ([Hebrew: maluah]) mentioned in Job xxx. 4; hence the name Jew's mallow. It is certain that the Greeks used this plant as a pot-herb; and by many other nations around the shores of the Mediterranean this use of it was, and is still, common. Throughout Bengal the name by which the plants when used as edible vegetables are recognized is _nalita_; when on the other hand they are spoken of as fibre-producers it is generally under the name _pat_. The cultivation of _C. capsularis_ is most prevalent in central and eastern Bengal, while in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, where, however, the area under cultivation is limited, _C. olitorius_ is principally grown. The fibre known as China jute or Tien-tsin jute is the product of another plant, _Abutilon Avicennae_, a member of the Mallow family.

_Cultivation and Cropping._--Attempts have been made to grow the jute plant in America, Egypt, Africa and other places, but up to the present the fibre has proved much inferior to that obtained from plants grown in India. Here the cultivation of the plant extends from the Hugli through eastern and northern Bengal. The successful cultivation of the plant demands a hot, moist climate, with a fair amount of rain. Too much rain at the beginning of the season is detrimental to the growth, while a very dry season is disastrous. The climate of eastern and northern Bengal appears to be ideal for the growth of the plant.

The quality of the fibre and the produce per acre depend in a measure on the preparation of the soil. The ground should be ploughed about four times and all weeds removed. The seed is then sown broadcast as in the case of flax. It is only within quite recent years that any attention has been paid to the selection of the seed. The following extract from _Capital_ (Jan. 17, 1907) indicates the new interest taken in it.

"Jute seed experiments are being continued and the report for 1906 has been issued. The object of these experiments is, of course, to obtain a better class of jute seed by growing plants, especially for no other purpose than to obtain their seed. The agricultural department has about 300 maunds (25,000 lb.) of selected seed for distribution this year. The selling price is to be _Rs._ 10 per maund. The agricultural department of the government of Bengal are now fully alive to the importance of fostering the jute industry by showing conclusively that attention to scientific agriculture will make two maunds of jute grow where only one maund grew before. Let them go on (as they will) till all the ryots are thoroughly indoctrinated into the new system."

The time of sowing extends from the middle of March to the middle of June, while the reaping, which depends upon the time of sowing and upon the weather, is performed from the end of June to the middle of October. The crop is said to be ready for gathering when the flowers appear; if gathered before, the fibre is weak, while if left until the seed is ripe, the fibre is stronger, but is coarser and lacks the characteristic lustre.

The fibre is separated from the stalks by a process of retting similar to that for flax and hemp. In certain districts of Bengal it is the practice to stack the crop for a few days previous to retting in order to allow the leaves to dry and to drop off the stalks. It is stated that the colour of the fibre is darkened if the leaves are allowed to remain on during the process of retting. It is also thought that the drying of the plants before retting facilitates the separation of the fibre. Any simple operation which improves the colour of the fibre or shortens the operation of retting is worthy of consideration. The benefits to be derived from the above process, however, cannot be great, for the bundles are usually taken direct to the pools and streams. The period necessary for the completion of the retting process varies according to the temperature and to the properties of the water, and may occupy from two days to a month. After the first few days of immersion the stalks are examined daily to test the progress of the retting. When the fibres are easily separated from the stalk, the operation is complete and the bundles should be withdrawn. The following description of the retting of jute is taken from Royle's _Fibrous Plants of India_:--

"The proper point being attained, the native operator, standing up to his middle in water, takes as many of the sticks in his hands as he can grasp, and removing a small portion of the bark from the ends next the roots, and grasping them together, he strips off the whole with a little management from end to end, without breaking either stem or fibre. Having prepared a certain quantity into this half state, he next proceeds to wash off: this is done by taking a large handful; swinging it round his head he dashes it repeatedly against the surface of the water, drawing it through towards him, so as to wash off the impurities; then, with a dexterous throw he fans it out on the surface of the water and carefully picks off all remaining black spots. It is now wrung out so as to remove as much water as possible, and then hung up on lines prepared on the spot, to dry in the sun."

The separated fibre is then made up into bundles ready for sending to one of the jute presses. The jute is carefully sorted into different qualities, and then each lot is subjected to an enormous hydraulic pressure from which it emerges in the shape of the well-known bales, each weighing 400 lb.

The crop naturally depends upon the quality of the soil, and upon the attention which the fibre has received in its various stages; the yield per acre varies in different districts. Three bales per acre, or 1200 lb. is termed a 100% crop, but the usual quantity obtained is about 2.6 bales per acre. Sometimes the crop is stated in lakhs of 100,000 bales each. The crop in 1906 reached nearly 9,000,000 bales, and in 1907 nearly 10,000,000 was reached. The following particulars were issued on the 19th of September 1906 by Messrs. W. F. Souter & Co., Dundee:--

+---------+-----------+---------------+-------------+----------------------+---------------------+--------------+-----------+ | | |Estimated yield| Estimated | Shipment to Europe. | Shipment to America.| Supplies to | Out-turn | | Year. | Actual | (100% | total +-----------+----------+---------+-----------+ Indian mills |total crop.| | | acreage. | equal 3 bales | crop. | Jute. | Cuttings.| Jute. | Cuttings. | and local | Bales. | | | | per acre). | Bales. | Bales. | Bales. | Bales. | Bales. | consumption. | | +---------+-----------+---------------+-------------+-----------+----------+---------+-----------+--------------+-----------+ |1901--1st| 2,216,500 | 94% = | 6,250,000 | | | | | | | | Final | 2,249,000 | 96% = | 6,500,000 | 3,528,691 | 54,427 | 295,921 | 426,331 | 3,100,000 = | 7,405,370 | |1902--1st| 2,200,000 | 80% = | 5,280.000 | | | | | | | | Final | 2,200,000 | 80% = | 5,280,000 | 2,773,621 | 39,019 | 230,415 | 207,999 | 2,600,000 = | 5,851,054 | |1903--1st| 2,100,000 | 85% = | 5,400,000 | | | | | | | | Final | 2,250,000 | 93(3/4)% = | 6,500,000 | 3,161,791 | 59,562 | 329,048 | 236,959 | 3,650,000 = | 7,437,360 | |1904--1st| 2,700,000 | 87(1/2)% = | 7,100,000 | | | | | | | | Final | 2,850,000 | 85% = | 7,400,000 | 2,939,940 | 44,002 | 253,882 | 290,854 | 3,475,782 = | 7,004,460 | |1905--1st| 3,163,500 | 87% = | 8,250,000 | | | | | | | | Final | 3,145,000 | 87% = | 8,200,000 \| | | | | \ | | | | | Outlying | 200,000 /| 3,483,315 | 63,118 | 347,974 | 245,044 | 4,018,523 / =| 8,233,358 | | | | | Madras | 75,384 | | | | | | |1906--1st| 3,271,400\| 87% = | 8,713,000 | | | | | | | |Outlying | 67,000/| Madras | 100,000 | | | | | | | | Final | 3,336,400 | | 8,736,220 | | | | | | | | (Outlying Districts and Madras, say 250,000 | | | | | | | | bales additional) | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------------------+-----------+----------+---------+-----------+--------------+-----------+

Estimated consumption of jute 1906-1907.

In Europe Bales per annum. Scotland 1,250,000 England 20,000 Ireland 25,000 France 475,000 Belgium 120,000 Germany 750,000 Austria and Bohemia 262,000 Norway and Sweden 62,500 Russia 180,000 Holland 25,000 Spain 90,000 Italy 160,000 ------- 3,419,500 bales In America 600,000 ------- 600,000 " In India-- Mills 3,900,000 Local 500,000 --------- 4,400,000 " --------------- 8,419,500 bales

Statistics of consumption of jute, rejections and cuttings.

+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Consumption. | 1894. | 1904. | 1906. | | | Bales. | Bales. | Bales. | +----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | United Kingdom | 1,200,000 | 1,200,000 | 1,295,000 | | Continent | 1,100,000 | 1,800,000 | 2,124,500 | | America | 500,000 | 500,000 | 600,000 | | Indian mills | 1,500,000 | 2,900,000 | 3,900,000 | | Local Indian consumption | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | | +-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Total jute crop consumption| 4,800,000 | 6,900,000 | 8,419,500 | +----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

A number of experiments in jute cultivation were made during 1906, and the report showed that very encouraging results were obtained from land manured with cow-dung. If more scientific attention be given to the cultivation it is quite possible that what is now considered as 100% yield may be exceeded.

_Characteristics._--The characters by which qualities of jute are judged are colour, lustre, softness, strength, length, firmness, uniformity and absence of roots. The best qualities are of a clear whitish-yellow colour, with a fine silky lustre, soft and smooth to the touch, and fine, long and uniform in fibre. When the fibre is intended for goods in the natural colour it is essential that it should be of a light shade and uniform, but if intended for yarns which are to be dyed a dark shade, the colour is not so important. The cultivated plant yields a fibre with a length of from 6 to 10 ft., but in exceptional cases it has been known to reach 14 or 15 ft. in length. The fibre is decidedly inferior to flax and hemp in strength and tenacity; and, owing to a peculiarity in its microscopic structure, by which the walls of the separate cells composing the fibre vary much in thickness at different points, the single strands of fibre are of unequal strength. Recently prepared fibre is always stronger, more lustrous, softer and whiter than such as has been stored for some time--age and exposure rendering it brown in colour and harsh and brittle in quality. Jute, indeed, is much more woody in texture than either flax or hemp, a circumstance which may be easily demonstrated by its behaviour under appropriate reagents; and to that fact is due the change in colour and character it undergoes on exposure to the air. The fibre bleaches with facility, up to a certain point, sufficient to enable it to take brilliant and delicate shades of dye colour, but it is with great difficulty brought to a pure white by bleaching. A very striking and remarkable fact, which has much practical interest, is its highly hygroscopic nature. While in a dry position and atmosphere it may not possess more than 6% of moisture, under damp conditions it will absorb as much as 23%.

Sir G. Watt, in his _Dictionary of the Economic Products of India_, mentions the following eleven varieties of jute fibre: Serajganji, Narainganji, Desi, Deora, Uttariya, Deswal, Bakrabadi, Bhatial, Karimginji, Mirganji and Jungipuri. There are several other varieties of minor importance. The first four form the four classes into which the commercial fibre is divided, and they are commonly known as Serajgunge, Naraingunge, Daisee and Dowrah. Serajgunge is a soft fibre, but it is superior in colour, which ranges from white to grey. Naraingunge is a strong fibre, possesses good spinning qualities, and is very suitable for good warp yarns. Its colour, which is not so high as Serajgunge, begins with a cream shade and approaches red at the roots. All the better class yarns are spun from these two kinds. Daisee is similar to Serajgunge in softness, is of good quality and of great length; its drawback is the low colour, and hence it is not so suitable for using in natural colour. It is, however, a valuable fibre for carpet yarns, especially for dark yarns. Dowrah is a strong, harsh and low quality fibre, and is used principally for heavy wefts. Each class is subdivided according to the quality and colour of the material, and each class receives a distinctive mark called a baler's mark. Thus, the finest fibres may be divided as follows:--

Superfine first marks. Extra fine first marks 1st, 2nd and 3rd numbers. Superior first marks " " " Standard " " " " " Good " " " " " Ordinary " " " " " Good second " " " " Ordinary " " " " "

The lower qualities are, naturally, divided into fewer varieties.

Each baler has his own marks, the fibres of which are guaranteed equal in equality to some standard mark. It would be impossible to give a list of the different marks, for there are hundreds, and new marks are constantly being added. A list of all the principal marks is issued in book form by the Calcutta Jute Baler's association.

The relative prices of the different classes depend upon the crop, upon the demand and upon the quality of the fibre; in 1905 the prices of Daisee jute and First Marks were practically the same, although the former is always considered inferior to the latter. It does not follow that a large crop of jute will result in low prices, for the year 1906-1907 was not only a record one for crops, but also for prices. R. F. C. grade has been as high as L40 per ton, while its lowest recorded price is L12. Similarly the price for First Marks reached L29, 15s. in 1906 as compared with L9, 5s. per ton in 1897. The following table shows a few well-known grades with the average prices during December for the years 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906.

+-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | Class. |Dec. 1903.|Dec. 1904.|Dec. 1905.|Dec. 1906.| +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | | L s. d. | L s. d. | L s. d. | L s. d. | | First marks | 12 15 0 | 16 0 0 | 19 15 0 | 27 15 0 | | Blacks S C C | 11 2 6 | 14 5 0 | 17 15 0 | 20 15 0 | | Red S C C | 12 0 0 | 14 17 6 | 18 15 0 | 23 15 0 | | Native rejections | 8 2 6 | -- | 14 10 0 | 15 17 6 | | S 4 group | -- | -- | 25 10 0 | 38 0 0 | | R F block D group | -- | -- | -- | 36 0 0 | | R F circle D group| 14 10 0 | 16 15 0 | 21 10 0 | -- | | R F D group | 11 15 0 | 14 2 6 | 17 12 6 | 22 0 0 | | N B green D | 14 5 0 | -- | 21 0 0 | 32 0 0 | | Heart T 4 | 14 12 6 | 17 10 0 | 22 10 0 | 34 0 0 | | Heart T 5 | 14 12 6 | 17 10 0 | 21 0 0 | 31 0 0 | | Daisee 2 | 12 17 6 | -- | 18 15 0 | 25 10 0 | | Daisee assortment | 12 10 0 | 14 17 6 | 18 5 0 | -- | | Mixed cuttings | 4 5 0 | -- | 10 0 0 | 10 0 0 | +-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

_Jute Manufacture._--Long before jute came to occupy a prominent place amongst the textile fibres of Europe, it formed the raw material of a large and important industry throughout the regions of Eastern Bengal. The Hindu population made the material up into cordage, paper and cloth, the chief use of the latter being in the manufacture of gunny bags. Indeed, up to 1830-1840 there was little or no competition with hand labour for this class of material. The process of weaving gunnies for bags and other coarse articles by these hand-loom weavers has been described as follows:--

"Seven sticks or chattee weaving-posts, called _tana para_ or warp, are fixed upon the ground, occupying the length equal to the measure of the piece to be woven, and a sufficient number of twine or thread is wound on them as warp called _tana_. The warp is taken up and removed to the weaving machine. Two pieces of wood are placed at two ends, which are tied to the _ohari_ and _okher_ or roller; they are made fast to the _khoti_. The _belut_ or treadle is put into the warp; next to that is the _sarsul_; a thin piece of wood is laid upon the warp, called _chupari_ or regulator. There is no sley used in this, nor is a shuttle necessary; in the room of the latter a stick covered with thread called _singa_ is thrown into the warp as woof, which is beaten in by a piece of plank called _beyno_, and as the cloth is woven it is wound up to the roller. Next to this is a piece of wood called _khetone_, which is used for smoothing and regulating the woof; a stick is fastened to the warp to keep the woof straight."

Gunny cloth is woven of numerous qualities, according to the purpose to which it is devoted. Some kinds are made close and dense in texture, for carrying such seed as poppy or rape and sugar; others less close are used for rice, pulses, and seeds of like size, and coarser and opener kinds again are woven for the outer cover of packages and for the sails of country boats. There is a thin close-woven cloth made and used as garments among the females of the aboriginal tribes near the foot of the Himalayas, and in various localities a cloth of pure jute or of jute mixed with cotton is used as a sheet to sleep on, as well as for wearing purposes. To indicate the variety of uses to which jute is applied, the following quotation may be cited from the official report of Hem Chunder Kerr as applying to Midnapur.

"The articles manufactured from jute are principally (1) gunny bags; (2) string, rope and cord; (3) _kampa_, a net-like bag for carrying wood or hay on bullocks; (4) _chat_, a strip of stuff for tying bales of cotton or cloth; (5) _dola_, a swing on which infants are rocked to sleep; (6) _shika_, a kind of hanging shelf for little earthen pots, &c.; (7) _dulina_, a floor-cloth; (8) _beera_, a small circular stand for wooden plates used particularly in _poojahs_; (9) painter's brush and brush for white-washing; (10) _ghunsi_, a waist-band worn next to the skin; (11) _gochh-dari_, a hair-band worn by women; (12) _mukbar_, a net bag used as muzzle for cattle; (13) _parchula_, false hair worn by players; (14) _rakhi-bandhan_, a slender arm-band worn at the Rakhi-poornima festival; and (15) _dhup_, small incense sticks burned at _poojahs_."

The fibre began to receive attention in Great Britain towards the close of the 18th century, and early in the 19th century it was spun into yarn and woven into cloth in the town of Abingdon. It is claimed that this was the first British town to manufacture the material. For years small quantities of jute were imported into Great Britain and other European countries and into America, but it was not until the year 1832 that the fibre may be said to have made any great impression in Great Britain. The first really practical experiments with the fibre were made in this year in Chapelshade Works, Dundee, and these experiments proved to be the foundation of an enormous industry. It is interesting to note that the site of Chapelshade Works was in 1907 cleared for the erection of a large new technical college.

In common with practically all new industries progress was slow for a time, but once the value of the fibre and the cloth produced from it had become known the development was more rapid. The pioneers of the work were confronted with many difficulties; most people condemned the fibre and the cloth, many warps were discarded as unfit for weaving, and any attempt to mix the fibre with flax, tow or hemp was considered a form of deception. The real cause of most of these objections was the fact that suitable machinery and methods of treatment had not been developed for preparing yarns from this useful fibre. Warden in his _Linen Trade_ says:--

"For years after its introduction the principal spinners refused to have anything to do with jute, and cloth made of it long retained a tainted reputation. Indeed, it was not until Mr. Rowan got the Dutch government, about 1838, to substitute jute yarns for those made from flax in the manufacture of the coffee bagging for their East Indian possessions, that the jute trade in Dundee got a proper start. That fortunate circumstance gave an impulse to the spinning of the fibre which it never lost, and since that period its progress has been truly astonishing."

The demand for this class of bagging, which is made from fine hessian yarns, is still great. These fine Rio hessian yarns form an important branch of the Dundee trade, and in some weeks during 1906 as many as 1000 bales were despatched to Brazil, besides numerous quantities to other parts of the world.

For many years Great Britain was the only European country engaged in the manufacture of jute, the great seat being Dundee. Gradually, however, the trade began to extend, and now almost every European country is partly engaged in the trade.