JUTE CULTIVATION 135 



buds with the result that the growth of the main shoot 

 is stopped. 



Jute seedlings are sometimes attacked by ground 

 grasshoppers. 



HARVESTING 



The plants mature in three or four months, so that 

 the crop sown in March is harvested in June and 

 that sown in June is harvested in September or 

 October. In India, the best time for cutting the crop 

 is considered to be either when the plant is in flower 

 or just after the appearance of the capsules, the fibre 

 obtained at these periods being of superior quality. 

 It is usually considered that fibre obtained from plants 

 which have not flowered is liable to be weak, whilst 

 that from plants in seed is harsh and deficient in 

 lustre. Late cutting gives a woody and inferior 

 fibre. 



Jute is usually harvested by cutting the stems near 

 the root by means of a bill-hook or sickle with a toothed 

 edge ; when the land is under water, boys sometimes 

 dive in with a sickle to cut the crop, and the retting 

 heap is built on the spot. On swampy and submerged 

 land the crop instead of being cut is sometimes pulled 

 up. The stems are made into bundles, each con- 

 taining as much as a man can carry ; sometimes the 

 tops are cut off and the leaves removed before 

 retting, but this is not always done. 



PREPARATION OF THE FIBRE 



As has been already stated, the fibre is located 

 between the bark and the central woody cylinder of 

 the stem. In order to free it from these and obtain 

 it in a form in which the individual strands are distinct 

 from one another, the process of retting is employed. 

 The stems are immersed in water, and allowed to 

 remain until the fermentation set up has converted 

 the gummy or pectous substances by which the fibres 

 are bound together into soluble decomposition pro- 

 ducts. The latter are carried away by the water, 

 and when the fermentation has proceeded far enough 

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