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Calcutta - Bazaar on the Chitpore Road.

Calcutta

Calcutta - Bazaar on the Chitpore Road.

Jute, also known as Calcutta Hemp, is a fiber obtained from several species of the genus Corchorus of the order Tiliaceæ, and employed in the manufacture of the coarser textiles. The great bulk of the world's supply is derived from two species, C. capsularis and C. olitorius (Jew's Mallow), both of which are indigenous to Bengal, India, where from remote times they have been cultivate for economic purposes. The two species are similar in appearance, but may be distinguished by the form of the seed pods, which are nearly spherical in C. capsularis, and long and narrow in C. olitorius. Both plants are herbaceous annuals with straight, slender stalks from 5 to 15 feet in height, branched at the top, and bearing small yellow flowers. The fiber, which is derived from the inner bark, is of a creamy yellow or light buff color and of a silky luster. It spins well, but is not as strong as flax or hemp, and deteriorates rapidly. The young shoots are used as pot herbs. Jute is grown chiefly in Bengal, though it is raised to a limited extent in China, Formosa, and Southern Japan. It can be grown successfully in the South Atlantic and Gulf States of the United States, but lack of mechanical methods for preparing the fiber has prevented its cultivation on an industrial scale. Attempts to naturalize it elsewhere have generally failed. For its most successful cultivation, jute requires a soft, deep soil and a hot, moist atmosphere, alluvial lands being especially adapted to its production. This illustration shows Corchorus capsularis.

Jute

Jute, also known as Calcutta Hemp, is a fiber obtained from several species of the genus Corchorus of…

After the softening process in the manufacturing of jute, the fibers are about six feet long, and are passed onto the breaker card, where they are reduced in length, finely divided, thoroughly mixed, cleared of impurities, and laid in parallel order. The chief features of the card are a cylinder about four feet in diameter covered with wooden staves filled with steel teeth, and around this cylinder a number of smaller cylinders, known as strippers and workers, also covered with steel teeth. The jute fibers are carried around the large cylinder, being finely divided by the workers and strippers in their course. A doffer roller then strips the elongated lap from the main cylinder and sends it down a broad channel, which compresses it to a strand or sliver about four inches wide. Twelve of these slivers are then fed into the finisher card, which is similar to the breaker, but has finer teeth, and are drawn out into a finer, smoother strand.

Carding Process in the Manufacuring of Jute

After the softening process in the manufacturing of jute, the fibers are about six feet long, and are…

After the carding process in the manufacturing of jute is completed, the jute is taken into the drawing frames, whose function is to draw out the sliver, by means of rollers, to a smaller size, and to straighten or comb the fiber, so as to make it spin into a strong and level thread. Four of the slivers from the finisher cards are put through he first drawing frame, and are discharged by it in one small sliver. Two of these slivers are hen put through a second and finer drawing frame, and further combed and drawn out into one end. The cans of slivers are then taken to the roving frames to continue the manufacturing process.

Drawing Process in the Manufacturing of Jute

After the carding process in the manufacturing of jute is completed, the jute is taken into the drawing…