The Jute Industry: from Seed to Finished Cloth | Page 8

must be remembered that although the marks have a distinct reference to quality and colour, they actually represent some particular firm or firms of balers or merchants. At other times, the batch of 5 to 10 bales may be composed of different qualities of jute, the number of each kind depending partly upon the finished price of the yarn, partly upon the colour, and partly upon the spinning properties of the combination.
It will be understood that the purpose for which the finished yarn is to be used will determine largely the choice of the bales for any particular batch. For example, to refer to a simple differentiation, the yarn which is to be used for the warp threads in the weaving of cloth must, in nearly every case, have properties which differ in some respects from the yarn which is to be used as weft for the same cloth.
On the whole, it will be found advantageous, when the same grade of jute is required, to select a batch from different balers' marks so that throughout the various seasons an average quality may be produced. The same class of yarn is expected at all times of the year, but it is well known that the properties of any one mark may vary from time to time owing to the slight variations in the manipulation of the fibre at the farms, and to the variations of the weather during the time of growth, and during the season generally.
A list of the bales for the batch is sent to the batching department, this list being known as a "batch-ticket." The bales are, of course, defined by their marks, and those mentioned on the batch-ticket must be rigidly adhered to for one particular class of yarn; if there is any chance of one kind running short, the condition should be notified in time so that a suitable mark may be selected to take its place without effecting any great change in the character or quality of the yarn.
When the number and kind of bales have been selected and removed from the groups or parcels in the store or warehouse, they are conveyed to the batching department, and placed in a suitable position near the first machine in the series. It need hardly be mentioned that since the fibre, during the operation of baling, is subjected to such a high hydraulic pressure, the bale presents a very solid and hard appearance, see Fig. 7, for the various so-called "heads" of fibre have been squeezed together and forced into a very small bulk. In such a state, the heads are quite unfitted for the actual batching operation; they require to be opened out somewhat so that the fibres will be more or less separated from each other. This operation is termed "opening" and the process is conducted in what is known as a "bale opener," one type of which is illustrated in Fig. 8, and made by Messrs. Urquhart, Lindsay & Co., Ltd., Dundee.
The various bales of the batch are arranged in a suitable manner near the feed side of the machine, on the left in the view, so that they can be handled to the best advantage. The bands or ropes, see Fig. 7, are removed from the bale in order that the heads or large pieces of jute can be separated. If any irregularity in the selection of the heads from the different bales of the batch takes place in this first selection of the heads of jute, the faulty handling may affect subsequent operations in such a way that no chance of correcting the defect can occur; it should be noted at this stage that if there are slight variations of any kind in the fibres, it is advisable to make special efforts to obtain a good average mixture; as a matter of fact, it is wise to insist upon a judicious selection in every case. The usual variations are--the colour of the fibre, its strength, and the presence of certain impurities such as stick, root, bark or specks; if the pieces of jute, which are affected adversely by any of the above, are carefully mixed with the otherwise perfect fibre, most of the faults may disappear as the fibre proceeds on its way through the different machines.
[Illustration: FIG. 8 BALE OPENER By permission of Messrs. Urquhart, Lindsay & Co., Ltd.]
The layers of heads are often beaten with a heavy sledge hammer in hand batching, but for machine batching a bale opener is used, and this operation constitutes the preliminary opening. As already indicated, the heads of jute are fed into the machine from the left in Fig. 8, each head being laid on a travelling feed cloth which carries the heads of jute successively between a pair of feed rollers from which