MONDAY, JUNE 29.—AFTERNOON SESSION, 
2.30 P.M. 
Section VI.—Jute and Hemp. 
Chairman: Mr. C. C. McLeop, Chairman of the London 
Jute Association. 
THE CHAIRMAN: Gentlemen—The first paper to be read 
this afternoon is one by Mr. R. S. Finlow, Fibre Expert to 
the Government of Bengal, on “‘ Jute and its Substitutes.” 
JUTE AND ITS SUBSTITUTES. 
By R. S. Fintow, 
Fibre Expert to the Government of Bengal. 
[ABsTRACT. | 
Jute has been cultivated in Bengal since very ancient times, 
but the export of raw jute, which marks the commencement 
of the great development of the crop, is quite modern. Even 
as late as the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century 
the export of raw jute from India amounted to only a few 
hundreds of maunds—say 30 tons. Difficulty was experienced 
at first. with jute, as with most other new products, in finding 
a market for it, but the trade in the raw fibre gradually ex- 
panded, the development being greatly aided by the Crimean 
War, until at the present time jute has practically completely 
replaced all other fibres as a basis for the manufacture of 
gunnies. To-day the total produce of jute in Bengal amounts 
to something like 1,750,000 tons, grown on upwards of 
3,000,000 acres. 
For its growth jute requires a high temperature and also 
abundant moisture in the soil. It is, however, contrary to 
what is generally supposed, not a crop which requires the land 
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