The Jute Industry: from Seed to Finished Cloth | Page 6

trade is conducted under various conditions. The
method of marketing may be of such a nature that the farmers in some
districts may have to make a rough assortment of the fibre into a
number of qualities or grades, and these grades are well known in the
particular areas; on the other hand, the farmers may prefer to sell the
total yield of fibre at an overhead price per maund. A maund is
approximately equal to 8 lbs., and this quantity forms a comparatively
small bundle. In other cases, the fibre is made up into what is known as
a "drum"; this is a hand-packed bale of from 1 1/2 to 3 or 3 1/2 maunds;
it is a very convenient size for transit in India.
Practically one half of the total jute crop, of 9 to 10 million bales of 400

lbs. each, is used in India, and the remaining half is baled for export to
the various parts of the world; a little over one million bales are
exported annually to Great Britain, the bulk of this fibre comes to
Dundee.
It is practically impossible for foreign purchasers to see the material at
the assorting stations, but the standardized method of assorting and
grading enables a purchaser to form a very good idea of the quality of
the fibre, and its suitability or otherwise for special types of yarn and
cloth. Thus, a form of selecting and grading has been established on a
basis that provides a very large amount of jute each year of a quality
which is known as "a first mark." A mark, in general, in reference to
fibre, is simply some symbol, name, letter, monogram or the like, or a
combination of two or more, oft-times with reference to some colour,
to distinguish the origin of the fibre, the baler, or the merchant.
In normal years there is also a large quantity of fibre of a better quality
than what is known as "first mark," and this better quality is termed
"fine jute"; while there is yet a further lot, the quality of which is below
these good ones. Since there are hundreds of different marks which are
of value only to those connected directly with the trade, it is
unnecessary to dwell on the subject. The following list, however,
shows quotations of various kinds, and is taken from the Market Report
of the Dundee Advertiser of March, 1920. The price of jute, like almost
everything else, was at this date very high, so in order to make
comparisons with the 1920 and normal prices, we introduce the prices
for the corresponding grade, first marks, for the same month in the
years 1915 onwards.
JUTE PRICES, IN MARCH First Marks
Year. Price per ton.
£. s. d. £. s. d. 1915 27 to 35 15 1916 44 1917 42 10 1918 51 1919 49
1920 70 (spot)
It is necessary to state that the assorting and balings are generally so
uniform that the trade can be conducted quite satisfactorily with the aid

of the usual safeguards under contract, and guarantees regarding the
properties of the fibre.
After these assorting operations are completed, the jute fibre is made up
into bundles or "bojahs" of 200 lbs. each, and two of these 200 lb.
bundles are subsequently made up into a standard bale, the weight of
which is 400 lbs. This weight includes a permitted quantity of binding
rope, up to 6 lbs. in weight, while the dimensions in the baling press of
the 400 lb. bale are 4'1" X 1'6" X 1' 4".
[Illustration: FIG. 4 NATIVES CARRYING SMALL BALES OF
JUTE FIBRE FROM BOAT TO PRESS HOUSE]
Large quantities of the smaller and loosely-packed bales are conveyed
from the various places by boats to the baling houses or press houses as
they are termed. These are very large establishments, and huge staffs of
operatives are necessary to deal rapidly and efficiently with the large
number of bales. In Fig. 4 scores of natives, superintended by a
European, are seen carrying the smaller bales on their heads from the
river boat to the press house. It is, of course, unnecessary to make the
solid 400 lb. bales for Indian consumption; this practice is usually
observed only for jute which is to be exported, and all such bales are
weighed and measured at the baling station by a Chamber of
Commerce expert.
Most of the baling presses used in the press houses in the Calcutta
district are made in Liverpool, and are provided with the most efficient
type of pumps and mechanical parts. Fig. 5 illustrates one of these huge
presses with a number of natives in close proximity. Two or three
distinct operations are conducted simultaneously by different groups of
operatives, and ingenious mechanism is essential for