132 



USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



But the niacin lie alone does not prepare the fiber in marketable form. The decor- 

 ticated ribbons have yet to be retted to remove the gums, wood, and other waste 

 matters, and give a spinnable product. The best combined process so far available 

 is to strip the stalks by machine and ret the fiber in tanks of water. Mr. Fremerey, 

 who has had a large experience in this work, recommends the use of wooden vats 

 filled with water and kept as near a temperature of 95° to 100° F. as possible; 

 or holes may be dug in the ground, as for flax retting, measuring, say, 10 feet long 

 by 4 wide and 4 feet deep. The stripped ribbons are tied loosely in bundles of about 

 50 pounds, for ease in handling, and placed in the vats or pools in such a manner as 

 to insure their being completely submerged until the dissolution of the gums and 

 waste matters has been accomplished. In the absence of the vats or pools, the India 

 practice of retting in pools or waterways must be followed, though it is not essential 

 that the farmer shall follow the Indian ryot's example, by taking a warm bath in 

 water fouled by decomposing vegetable matters almost to the point of purification. 



Yield, and value of the crop. — Warden, in his work on the linen trade, 1867, 

 places the yield of jute fiber per acre in India at 400 to 700 pounds. George Watt 

 states in the report of the revenue and agricultural department of India (1888-89) 

 that an average crop of fiber is 15 maunds, though the range is from 3 to 36 maunds 

 per acre — a maund is 87? pounds. He also cites the experiments performed at the 

 Saidapet farm in Madras, where the yield was 599 pounds of fiber if cut close to the 

 ground, and 703 pounds when pulled, but adds that is less than half of the average 

 yield in Bengal. Undoubtedly the American yield, on proper soil, will be consider- 

 ably higher then the yield in India and it would be perfectly safe, then, to count 

 .upon crops of 3,000 pounds per acre, since this yield is exceeded in India under the 

 best conditions of growth. 



Regarding the value of the crop, a perusal of the past literature of the subject 

 published in this country reveals promises of large remuneration to those who will 

 embark in the industry. Tables showing cost of production and profits of culture 

 have appeared that, however honestly they may have been stated at the time they 

 were prepared, are now misleading, for the reason that the prices of fibers of all 

 kinds were never lower than at the present time (1896). 



The following table showing the values of India jute on December 31, for three 

 y^ars, from monthly statements of H. H. Crocker & Co., Xew York City, January 1, 

 1896, is interesting: 





Tear. 



Jute fiber. 



Butts and rejections. 





Spot. ; Shipment. 



Spot. 



Shipment. 



1893 



Cents. Cents. 

 3£@4§ 3£@4£ 

 2|S3| - 2 ®3| 

 2f@3i 2i®3|> 



Cents. 



H 



Cents. 



1.7@2£ 



1 ,\." H 



]S94 



1895 





The Report on the Foreign Commerce- and Navigation of the United States for 

 the year ending June 30, 1895, shows that the fiber was imported in the following 

 quantities: 





Year. 



Jute fiber. 



Butts and rejections. 





Tons. 



Value. 



Tons. 



Value. 



] *94 



18,154 

 41, 787 



$935, 537 

 1, 573, 690 



31, 845 



$780 821 



1895 





68,885 | 1,181,439 



Total 



100, 730 



1, 1102. -J60 



These figures show that over 100,000 tons of the cheaper fiber (selling at an average 

 of less than li cents per pound) are used in this country annually, against about 





