330 | TIMEHRI. 
closely associated with your interests by the very cour- 
teous action of your Society. 
Yours, &c., 
EDWARD SUTTON. 
The Secretary reported that he had received a letter 
from Messrs. Foy, Morgan & Co., intimating the arrival 
of the timbers ex A¢/antzs and speaking disparagingly 
of the inlaid tables which had been sent earlier. 
The Secretary read the following letter from Mr. 
R. W. S. Mitchell; the sample of jute fibre therein 
asad to being laid on the table :— 
Calcutta, 22nd June, 1897. 
Sir,—I have sent you per Parcel Post, a small sample 
of Jute fibre, as it comes from the Ryat (cultivator.) 
It is usual before shipping to cut off the roots, and 
take out hard bits, and make the fibre up into neat 
bundles before baling it for the English market, 
If shipped “gross” it might be worth £9 0 o to 
£10 0 o per ton for a good style uncut. If cut and 
cleaned, it would be worth about £1 0 o more. [am 
inclined to think, it would pay best to ship “ gross,” as 
the extra work required to clean and prepare it would 
probably cost more than one pound per ton. I am 
endeavouring to obtain information as to the weight 
of fibre per acre, which of course, is an important factor. 
I have no doubt however that looking to the soil 
and splendid rainfall of the Colony, the Jute plant 
will grow much higher than in India. 
The sample I send you comes, I believe, from North 
Bengal, and is longer than what grows near Calcutta. 
Here, when the plant has reached some three or four 
feet, several inches of water over the ground appear to 
