The Jute Industry: from Seed to Finished Cloth

The five main fibres used for ordinary textile purposes are cotton, flax, jute, silk and wool; in this group jute has been considered in general as being of the least value, not only in regard to price, but also in regard to utility. It is only under phenomenal conditions which arise from a great upheaval such as that which took place during the world's great war from 1914 onwards that, from a commercial point of view, the extreme importance of the jute fibre and its products are fully realized. Millions of sand bags were made from the year 1914 to the year 1918 solely for military purposes, while huge quantities of jute cloth were utilized as the covering material for food stuffs of various kinds, thus liberating the other textile fibres and cloth for equally important purposes.