Transport and Trade.—The hanks of fibre are brought by boat, or on men's heads, to the nearest market, and there sold to the dealers who go into the interior. It is next put into small boats, and conveyed to the exporting marts— Serajgunge, Raygunge, Pangassi, Chunderkona, Oollaparah, and Shahajadpore. There the fibre is sold to the resident merchant, and is generally made up into drums, before forwarding to Calcutta. The great bulk of the jute brought into Calcutta finds its way by water, and is for export. As it arrives in drums or hanks, it is made up into bales in the different screw-houses. The best fibre is pressed into bales of 300 lb. and 350 lb. The lower portion of the stems, which is hard, and entangled with bark and woody matter, is cut off from the clean fibre, and made up into bales of 350 lb. and 400 lb., known as "butts," or "cuttings." .Adulterations.—A common plan for increasing the weight of the banks is to pour water on them just before taking them to market ; or to expose them to nightly dews ; or to make up the hanks into bundles, before the fibre is dry from the washing process. The introduction of bad fibre into bundles of superior quality is frequently practised. Of the fibres of other plants substituted for jute there appear to be only two—Hibiscus cannabinus and H. esculentus. The former is brought in small quantities to some of the markets of the Mymensing and Dacca districts ; it is very inferior, and is deliberately introduced with fraudulent intent. The latter grows extensively on some of the jute lands, and is often mixed with it without fraudulent motive. It is somewhat inferior. (See Hibiscus.) Varieties and Qualities.—The marked differences noticed in the jute produced in distinct localities have led to the assignment of a variety of specific names, principally the following :— (1) Uttariyd, (2) Deswdl, (3) Desi, (4) Deord, (5) Narainganji, (6) Barabadi, (7) Bhatial, (8) Karim ganji, (9) Mirganji, (10) Jangipuri.
(1) The first is by far the best. It is called Uttariri, or "northern jute," because it comes from the districts to the north of Serajgunge—Rungpore, Goalpara, Bogra, parts of Mymensing, Cooch Behar, and Julpigoori. This jute possesses to the greatest extent those properties which are essentially necessary in fibre intended for spinning—length, colour, and strength. It is, however, sometimes weak, and is never equal to the Desi and Deswdl descriptions in softness. (2) Next in commercial value is the Deswdl ; it goes down fairly with the trade on account of fineness, softness, bright colour, and strength. Its name implies that it is the native jute of Serajgunge, and its neighbour hood. It first comes into the market in July–August. (3) The Desi jute is the produce of Hooghly, Burdwan, Jessore, and 24-Pergunnahs. It is a long, fine, and soft fibre. If its defects, which are stated to be fuzziness and bad colour, were removed, its market value would be very much improved. (4) The staple known under the name of Deord comes from Furreedpore and Backer gunge. Its name is due to a village in Furreedpore, where formerly there was a large mart. The
bulk of the fibre of this class is strong, coarse, black, and rooty, and much overspread with runners. It is used for the manufacture of ropes. Its value would rise if the dealers would refrain from pouring water on the prepared fibre. Occasionally small batches are met with of a very superior quality. (5) The Ndrainganji jute, which is brought from Aralia, Karimganji, and other centres of the Narain gunge mart, is mostly the produce of the district of Dacca. It is very good for spinning, being strong, soft, and long. But from some neglect in steeping, the fibre, by the time it reaches Calcutta, changes from its original colour to a brown or foxy tint, which detracts from its value. (6) The finest description of Dacca jute is the Bdkrabadi fibre, which is raised on the churs of the river Megna. It excels par ticularly in coloiir and soft ness. (7) The Bhatial jute is also the produce of the district of Dacca, and comes to Calcutta from Naraingunge. It is grown on churs, and is called Bhdtial because it is imported to Naraingunge from the south or tidal side of that place. It is very coarse, but strong, and is to a certain extent in demand in the British markets, for the manufacture of ropes. (8) Karimgunge, in the Mymensing district, gives its name to a very fine description of jute which is grown there. It is usually long, very strong, and of good colour, partaking to some extent of the nature of the Namlngunge or Dacca jute. (9) The produce of Rungpore, though largo, is generally of medium quality, and the worst kind of it comes from Mir gunge, on the Toesta, whence its name lifirganji. (10) The produce of a portion of the Pubna district is known by the name of Jangipuri, so called from a small village of that name. It is a short fibre, weak, and of a foxy colour, most objectionable for spinning.
In addition to their fort nightly circular, Ronaldson & Co., of 22, Mincing Lane, publish annually a very use ful chart of the pnblio and private marks and assort ments of jute.
Characters and Uses of the Fibre.—A section of a portion of the stem of this plant is seen in Fig. 653: c, cambium ; e, epidermis ; f, bast fibres ; mag. 100. The bundles of fibres are arranged in lines forming a triangle.
They are coloured distinctly yellow by test H.
The fibres, mag. 300, are seen in Fig. 654: a, section of bundles of fibres ; b, fibres seen longi tudinally ; c, ends. The walls are somewhat thin in relation to the size of the central cavity. The latter is almost always apparent up to the extremity of the fibre. The ends vary much in shape. Under test F, the fibres assume a full yellow colour, which distinguishes them most readily from hemp and flax. The dimensions of the filaments are:—length: max., 0.196 in.; min., 0.057 in.: mean, 0.078 in. ; diameter: mean, 0.0008 in. The shortness of the filaments explains their inability to withstand long exposure to water. The thinness of the walls, their rigidity, and their partial liguification, indicate their liability to break when sharply bent.