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 (מַלּוּחַ) 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 nalitā; when on the other hand they are spoken of
as fibre-producers it is generally under the name pāt. 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 ℔) 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 ℔.
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 ℔ 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:—
| Year. | Actual acreage. |
Estimated yield (100% equal 3 bales per acre). |
Estimated total crop. Bales. |
Shipment to Europe. | Shipment to America. | Supplies to Indian mills and local consumption. |
Out-turn total crop. Bales. | ||
| Jute. Bales. |
Cuttings. Bales. |
Jute. Bales. |
Cuttings. Bales. | ||||||
| 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 | 9334% = | 6,500,000 | 3,161,791 | 59,562 | 329,048 | 236,959 | 3,650,000 = | 7,437,360 |
| 1904—1st | 2,700,000 | 8712% = | 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 | 3,483,315 | 63,118 | 347,974 | 245,044 | 4,018,523 = | 8,233,358 |
| Outlying | 200,000 | ||||||||
| 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) | |||||||||
