THE JUTE PLANT 



Diseases. 



Retting. 



Sweet Stagnant 

 Water. 



Fermentation. 



CORCHORUS 



Separation 

 of Fibre 



it is feared that the actual amount expended is very frequently much 

 below that figure. 



Diseases and Pests. In a paper on the Insect Pests of Jute, Maxwell- 

 Lefroy (Agri. Journ. Ind., 1907, ii., pt. ii., 109-15 ; also Memoirs Dept. 

 Agri. Ind., 1907, i., 160, etc.) says that our knowledge of these pests, 

 though not extensive, has been considerably enlarged and, while there 

 was reason to believe that this crop, grown on a large scale, suffered little 

 from pests, there is now abundant proof that this does not hold good for 

 small areas of jute or for jute grown in new localities. He then pro- 

 ceeds to describe the insects hitherto recorded as pests, viz. the Indigo 

 Caterpillar, the Jute Semi-looper, and the Jute Weevil. 



Separation of Fibre. The process pursued in Bengal may be described 

 as one of simple and inexpensive retting. But it is modified here and 

 there to such an extent as very possibly to originate, at least in some 

 measure, the various qualities of fibre recognised in trade. Sweet water 

 is essential and stagnant is preferable to running, presumably because in 

 the latter the germs necessary for the decomposition of the tissue are not 

 developed so copiously. The most general practice may be thus briefly 

 described the stems are cut near the ground, tied into bundles, and carried 

 off to a tank or roadside pool of clear, not muddy water. The bundles are 

 laid the one on the top of another, and if need be are weighted to cause 

 all to be submerged. In that position they are left until the decomposition 

 of the connecting tissue has been accomplished and the fibres liberated. 

 The period required for this purpose depends upon the nature of the water, 

 the kind of fibre, and the condition of the atmosphere. The germ concerned 

 in the fermentation (corresponding with that for hemp and flax) does not 

 appear to have been as yet studied in connection with jute, and it seems, 

 therefore, probable that great improvements are possible in this direction. 

 So far as present practice and experience go, the retting period may be 

 said to vary from ten to twenty-five days, but is largely dependent on 

 whether or not the bundles of stems have been stacked to allow of drying 

 before being retted. It would seem to be the case that partly dried stems 

 ret more expeditiously, and, moreover, the removal of the leaves during 

 the drying process is believed to prevent the discoloration of the fibre. 

 It would also appear that in some localities the stems are even left on the 

 fields for three or four days, being covered up with leaves, weeds and earth. 

 They are then shaken out, the tips removed and thrown away, tied 

 into bundles and carried off to the retting-pools. The use of sods and mud 

 to cause the bundles to sink into the retting water is doubtless a fruitful 

 cause of the dark colour often seen in certain parcels of fibre. It is on this 

 account that logs of timber are used as weights, when at all procurable. 

 It has also been affirmed that the red colour, often seen in the fibre, is due 

 to the retting water having contained iron, but by others this is held 

 to be a peculiarity of the race of jute plant (altapati), the colour being 

 possibly imparted from the decomposing red pulpy tissues of the stems 

 and leaf -stalks or inherent in the fibre itself. Mukerji does not think 

 that a red-stemmed plant need necessarily afford a red- coloured fibre. 

 He may be right, but this point needs confirmation. In many of the 

 experiments conducted by chemists it has been found that the fibre mani- 

 fests a tendency to assume a red colour under certain reagents. And it is 

 sometimes affirmed that the red-stemmed forms give inferior fibre to the 

 green- stemmed. It is essential that the operator should visit the retting- 



416 



Stacking before 

 Betting. 



Removal of 

 Leaves. 



Dark Colour of 

 Fibre. 



Presence of 

 Iron. 



Red Stem. 



Inferior Fibre. 



