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solutions, much more readily than cotton, and it is therefore 

 not such a lasting fibre as cotton. If the alkaline treatment is 

 carried on at high temperatures (as in the Dhotis' boiler) the 

 non-cellulose constituents of the jute are attacked and con- 

 verted into soluble products, the fibre finally getting disinte- 

 grated. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



Fibre-Crops, continued. 

 (2) BOMBAY HEMP (HIBISCUS CANNABINUS) 



"DOMBAY hemp, Ambari hemp, or Deccan hemp, called in 

 Bengal Mesta-pdt and in Bihar Patina, is grown largely 

 as a crop and as a hedge-plant, in Madras, the Central Pro- 

 vinces and Bombay. It is also grown to a certain extent in 

 the N.-W. P., Oudh and the Punjab. In Bengal, it is 

 grown chiefly in Chutia-Nagpur. The merits of this fibre 

 have not hitherto been recognised as they deserve, by ex- 

 porters. It is superior to jute in every respect and its cul- 

 tivation should be encouraged wherever possible. The lower 

 part of the steam contains the best fibre and as much as 

 possible of this should be secured in harvesting. It is not 

 only used as a substitute for jute but also for making fishing 

 nets and paper. The pulp for making paper out of mesta 

 pat is made by adding 6 seers of lime and a maund of clean 

 water to every maund of fibre. Slips of sized paper weighing 

 39 grains made from maize stalk pulp, jute pulp and mesta 

 pat pulp, bore respectively the weights of 47 Ibs., 60 Ibs. and 



