582 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



JUTE. 



Jute fiber is obtained from two closely related species, Corchorua 

 olitorius and Corchorus capsularis, native in Asia. Both are culti- 

 vated largely in Bengal, India, and to a less extent in China, Japan, 

 and Formosa. The plants are annuals, belonging to the linden fam- 

 ily. In general habit of growth they resemble Kentucky hemp, 

 attaining a height of 8 to 12 feet, with no branches or only a few 

 small ones near the top. Jute grows best in rich alluvial soils along 

 rivers. The seed is sown in the spring, either broadcast in the field 

 or sometimes in carefully prepared beds, from which the seedlings 

 are afterwards transplanted. The plants are harvested either by 

 cutting close to the ground or by pulling them up by the roots. In 

 Formosa the fiber is stripped from the fresh green stalks as soon as 

 pulled, and these ribbons, called "hemp skins, are afterwards retted 

 by soaking them in water, and the fiber cleaned by drawing it be- 

 tween a blunt knife and a block of wood. In India the jute is either 

 cut or pulled, and is retted by immersing the bundles of stalks in 

 water. The fiber is afterwards cleaned by hand processes from the 

 wet stalks. 



The coarser fiber from the base of the stalks, 5 to 25 inches in 

 length, is cut off and placed upon the market as jute butts. The 

 remainder of the fiber is fine, soft, glossy, pliable, and easily spun. 

 When fresh it is of a light creamy-white color, but it changes to a 

 dingy yellow upon exposure. It also loses its strength, especially if 

 exposed to moisture. It is the cheapest fiber used in American tex- 

 tile manufactures, and it is employed in greater quantities than any 

 other except cotton and sisal. Jute butts, ranging in price from 1 to 

 2 cents per pound, are used for making paper, and also for coarse 

 bagging, cotton-bale covering, and the cheaper grades of twine. The 

 longer fiber is used for wool twine, binder twine, jute rugs and car- 

 pets, grain sacks, and even for filling in heavy silk goods. The im- 

 portations of jute fiber and jute butts amount to more than 100,000 

 tons a year, and the consumption in this country is steadily increas- 

 ing. Experiments in the cultivation of jute in this country have 

 proved that the plants may be grown successfully in the Southern 

 States, but without suitable machinery for preparing the fiber the 

 industry can not be carried on profitably. A machine that will de- 

 corticate ramie will strip jute, and probably, with some slight 

 changes, other bast fibers. The problem which has confronted the 

 world with regard to ramie is almost identical, therefore, with that 

 which has proved the stumbling block of the jute industry and other 

 good fibers as well. (Y. B. 1903.) 



MANILA HEMP. 



Abaca plants, from which comes the Manila hemp used for 

 binder twine, are cultivated successfully only in a comparatively 

 small portion of the Philippines. In appearance they resemble the 

 common fruit banana. In these regions there is an abundant rain- 

 fall and a relatively high humidity of the atmosphere. The plant 

 grows best in volcanic soils on hillsides where there is good natural 

 drainage. It cannot be grown successfully in wet, swampy land or 



