FIBRES 525 



considerably increased by the addition to the retting water 

 of certain salts. 



The lower portion of the jute stem, being older and 

 harder, is, of course, more difficult to ret than the upper, 

 more succulent part. If, therefore, the whole of the stem 

 is immersed at once, the upper part rets before the pro- 

 cess in the lower bark is complete, with the result that 

 " rooty " jute is obtained. If the plant has stood in 

 water for a considerable time, the immersed portion of 

 the bark sends out adventitious roots and becomes still 

 tougher. The retting process is thus made even more 

 difficult. In such a case, moreover, the fibre from the 

 immersed portion of the plant becomes markedly coarser. 

 Even retting over the whole length of the plant can be 

 obtained by placing the bundles in an erect position in 

 about 2 ft. of water for three or four days previous to 

 their complete immersion. In this way the lower bark 

 commences to soften before retting has begun in the 

 upper portion. If the retted fibre is " rooty " the coarse 

 lower portion can be cut off, leaving the upper portion 

 for finer work. Sometimes, however, in the case of jute 

 growing on immersed land there is a sudden temporary 

 rise in the river, followed by a fall. In this case the 

 middle temporarily immersed portion begins to harden 

 to a greater extent than either the upper or the per- 

 manently immersed lower portion of the stem, and the 

 result is a band of imperfectly retted fibre right in the 

 middle of the strand. This is the worst aspect of rooty 

 jute. It is known in the trade as " middle root." 



When the retting is complete the bundles of jute are 

 taken out of the water. It is found that the bark, which, 

 of course, contains the fibre, has become quite soft and 

 can easily be separated from the central pith. Moreover, 

 the parenchymatous tissue in which the fibre is embedded, 

 as in a ribbon, has been so softened and dissolved away 

 that, after stripping from the stem, the fibre only needs 

 careful washing and drying to be ready for the market. 



Regarding the yield of fibre to be expected from jute, 

 everything depends upon the conditions under which the 

 crop is grown. On first-class land in a favourable season 

 a return of over 30 maunds (say 6 bales) per acre, though 

 exceptional, is not impossible. A 20 maund crop (4 bales) 



