(b) SOFT FIBERS.- Flax (see article on Flax).
Flax fiber is secured from the inner bark of the straw of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum, Linn., belonging to the Linaceee or Flax family. This plant, originating in Asia, is now cultivated com mercially for fiber in Russia, Siberia, Austria, Hun gary, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, Ire land, Canada and the United States. In the United States, flax fiber is produced in eastern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. About 2,000 to 3,000 acres are devoted to fiber flax each year in this country, producing an average of about 450 pounds of fiber per acre, or a total of 900,000 to 1,350,000 pounds valued at $90,000 to $135,000. The importations for use in the twenty flax spinning mills during the past ten years have averaged annually 7,701 tons, valued at $1,865,473. The imports include water-rotted Belgian flax, making the average value higher than that of the dew-retted American flax.
Hemp (see article on Hemp).
Hemp is a soft fiber obtained from the inner bark of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, Linn., an annual belonging to the .1foracece or Mulberry family. Origi nating in central Asia, hemp is now cultivated for fiber production in China, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Italy, France and the United States. In this coun try hemp is one of the principal crops of the blue grass region in central Kentucky, 10,000 to 20,000 acres being grown there each year. Smaller areas, rarely exceeding a total of 1,000 acres, are grown nearly every year in Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and California.
The annual production of rough hemp in the United States amounts to 4,000 to 10,000 tons, valued at $480,000 to $1,200,000. The annual average quantity of hemp imported in the past ten years is 4,982 tons, with an annual average value of $716,264. There has been a general upward ten dency in prices in the past fifteen years. With a more general use of harvesting machinery and fiber-cleaning machinery, now being introduced, the crop may be grown more economically and its cultivation will doubtless extend over much wider areas.
Jute. (Figs. 392, 393.)
Jute fiber is derived from the inner bark of two species of plants,—jute, Corchorus capsularis, Linn., and nal ta jute, Corchorus olitorius, Linn., both native in northern India. They belong to the Tiliaceee or Linden family. They are cultivated commercially in India, Farther India, China, Formosa and south ern Japan. The plants may be grown without diffi culty in suitable soils in all warm, moist countries, but the large amount of hand labor required in the preparation of the fiber has prevented the develop ment of the industry outside of Asia.
The two kinds of jute plants are almost identical in appearance except in the form of the seed-pods.
(Fig. 393.) They are herbaceous annuals similar in habit to hemp, but more slender and less inclined to branch when standing alone. When grown broadcast for fiber, the slender whip-like stalks, one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter and five to fifteen feet in height, bear no branches except at the top. The basal lobes of the leaves of both spe cies terminate in slender points. The seed-pods of C. capsularis are nearly spherical, while those of C. olitorius are prismatic or nearly cylindrical.
The best fiber is produced by C. capsularis, and this species is more extensively cultivated. The cultivation of C. olitorius is confined largely to the warmer and wetter regions near the coast. Several horticultural varieties are recognized in India, the most important of which are the follow ing: "Serajganj," 'Narainganj," "Dacca" and "Desi." These names are from towns or centers of jute cultivation north of Calcutta in the Bengal Province.
By far the greater part of the jute fiber imported into this country is of the Serajganj variety, usu ally known in our markets as "Seragunge." This is of a creamy yellow or light buff color, finer and softer than hemp. The Dacca fiber is very similar, and also the Narainganj, except that the latter is somewhat coarser. The Desi fiber, obtained from nalta jute, is finer in texture and of a dark gray color, the difference in color being due chiefly to different methods of preparation.