192 SILK, JUTE 



The name ' Tussore ' is, however, applied to almost any kind 

 of native Indian fawn-coloured silk, whether it comes from 

 the Tasar moth or not. 



In Assam there is a silkworm which lives on the Castor-oil 

 Plant, which is there known by the name of Eri, and hence 

 this name is given to the silkworm. The silk from the Eri 

 cocoons cannot be reeled off in the same way as that from 

 ordinary cocoons ; it has to be spun for weaving (just as cotton 

 is), hence the silk is called spun silk. Large quantities of it 

 are manufactured in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and 

 Staffordshire. As the castor-oil plant grows wild in many 

 parts of the empire (e.g. in the West Indies and Kenya 

 Colony) there seems no reason why we should not be able to 

 produce large quantities of beautiful spun silk in the future. 



It must be remembered, however, that, with silk as with 

 cotton, a large amount of cheap labour is required, and it 

 appears to be hopeless to try to produce silk in countries 

 where this labour is unobtainable. 



We import silk from China, France, Japan, Italy, and 

 British India. This was the order of importance in 1913, 

 but during the war the imports from France have very 

 seriously declined and those from Japan greatly increased. 



JUTE (Corchorus capsularis). As you walk along the quays 

 of Dundee you see the great ships unloading their merchandise. 

 Many of these ships have come from Calcutta, and from their 

 holds the cranes haul up great bales of drab-coloured jute, 

 and deposit them upon the pavement. 



In its native soil in Bengal the jute plant grows to about 

 ten feet high ; sometimes it even reaches fourteen feet. It 

 requires great heat and plenty of moisture, though the best 

 kind of fibre is obtained from plants raised in well-drained 

 land. When grown on muddy swamps they are taller, but 

 their fibre is coarser. Jute is raised from seed, and the sowing 

 usually takes place in March or April ; it bears yellow flowers, 

 and when these appear it is time to cut the plants down. 

 This usually happens in August or September. 



