Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/834

800 JUTE of retting practised in the case of flax, hemp, &c. (see FLAX, vol. ix. p. 294). In certain districts of Bengal it is the practice to stack the crop for a few days previous to retting, during which period the leaves drop off the stalks, and otherwise the stalks themselves are thereby brought into a condition for more rapid retting. The general practice, however, is to tie the crop into bundles sufficient for one man to carry, and to place these at once in water for the purpose of retting. Pools and ponds of stagnant water are preferred for retting where such are available, but the process is also carried on in the water of running streams. The period necessary for the completion of the retting process varies much according to the temperature and condition of the water, and may be said to occupy from two or three days up to a mouth. The stalks are examined periodically to test the progress of the retting operation, and when it is found that the fibres peel off and separate readily from the woody portion of the stalk, the operation is complete, and the bundles are withdrawn, The following is a description of the method generally practised for separating the fibre from the stalks. " The proper point being attained, the native operator, standing up to his middle in water, takes as many of the stalks in his hands as he can grasp, and, removing a small portion of the bark from the ends next to the roots, and grasping them together, he strips off the whole with a little management from end to end without either breaking stern 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 care fully 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 washed, sun-dried, and made up into hanks, and so is ready for the market. In favourable circumstances the produce of cleaned fibre amounts, on an average, to about 6 maunds per beegah (131- C wts. per acre), but official returns from various districts show differences ranging from 5 to 26 or even 30 cwts. per acre. The cost of cultivation also varies much in different localities. According to the official report of Hem Chunder Kerr, it is as much as Us. 17 per beegah (about 2, 12s. per acre) in Chittagong, and as low as E. 1 (or 3s. per acre) in Manbhum ; but such estimates are obviously of little value, as the cultivation is carried on by the ryots without the aid of hired labour, and forms generally only one among the various cultivated products of the land by which a livelihood is obtained. Jute, however, is certainly one of the most cheaply raised and prepared of all fibres ; and to this fact more than to any special excellency of character it possesses is due its now extensive employment as a manufacturing staple. The characters by which qualities of jute are judged are principally colour, lustre, softness, strength, length, firmness, uniformity, and cleanness of fibre. The best qualities of jute are of a clear white yellowish colour, with a fine silky lustre, soft and smooth to the touch, and fine, long, and uniform in fibre. As a general rule the root ends are harsher and more woody than the middle and upper portions, but in fine jute this distinction is not so notice able as in less valuable qualities. In length the fibre varies from 6 to 7 feet, but occasionally it is obtained to a length of 14 feet, and, generally speaking, in proportion to the length of the fibre is its fineness of quality. Inferior qualities of jute are brownish in colour and, especially at the root ends, harsh and woody, with much adhering dark cortical matter and other impurities. 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 clue 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 10 per cent, of moisture, under clamp conditions it will absorb up to 30 per cent, or thereby. As already stated, its commercial distinction is based on the botanical species of plant from which the fibre is pre pared ; but in the Calcutta market a series of commercial staples are recognized based on the districts whence they are drawn, the values of which bear a pretty constant relation, to each other. These classes, in the order of quality, are : (1) Uttariyd or northern jute, coming from Rangpur, Goalpara, Bogra, and the districts north of Sirajganj; for length, colour, and fineness, this is unequalled ; (2) Desivdl or Sirajganj jute, which is valued on account of its softness, bright colour, fineness, and strength, in the last characteristic it is superior to Uttariya jute ; (3) Desi jute comes from Hooghly, Bardwan, Jessore, and the 24 Parganas ; (4) Deord jute is produced in Faridpur and Bakarganj, it is a strong coarse dark and sooty fibre, used principally for rope-making. The other qualities recognized in Calcutta are (5) Narainganji jute from Dacca, a strong soft long fibre, of inferior colour ; (6) Bdkrdbadi jute from Dacca, of fine colour and softness; (7) Bhatial jute from Dacca, very coarse but strong, and very suitable for rope-making ; (8) Karimganji jute from the Mymensing district, a long, strong, and well-coloured staple ; (9) Mirganji jute, the produce of Rangpur, harsh and woody from over-ripeness of the stalks ; and (10) Jangipuri jute of Patna, a short, weak, and foxy- coloured fibre of very inferior quality. In the European markets these distinctions are not much remarked, traders marks and classification being the accepted standards of quality and condition. Moreover, it is only the finer qual ities that are exported, the lower class jute being used locally for gunny bags, ropes, &c. At Calcutta and various other centres the jute received from local traders is sorted, packed, and pressed into bales of 400 K> for shipment to the English and other markets. Woody and hard root ends, which will not press into bales, are cut off and sold separately under the name of " cuttings." "Jute," "cuttings," and "rejections" (the last the name of the low-class fibre) are the three heads under which jute fibre is entered in the trade and import lists of Western countries. The Jute Trade of Calcutta. The importation of jute in l o Europe commenced about the end of the last century, but so recently as that period it was confused with hemp. During the earlier years of the present century the imports slowly increased, but, as Hem Chunder Kerr says, "the shipments were so insignificant that little or no notice was taken of them by the custom house authorites." Since that time a great revolution has taken place. In 1829 the custom house assigned to jute a separate heading, in which