Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/384

* JUSTINIAN I. 352 JUTE. (see Procopius) to form a just estimate of Jus- tinian. There is no doubt of liis ability and industry, but lie was unscrupulous, vain, and easily inlluenced. He was passionately devoted to theolog}', and wrote liymns and controversial works. For the vexed question of his attitude toward the Chureli, consult Hutton, Church of the Sixth Century (New York, 1897). For his leipn and life, consult: Gibbnn. Drclinr and Full of thi- Kumiin Emiiire, ed. Bury (Loudon, I8'.)ti- 1000) ; Bury, hatrr Komun Empire (London, 1880) : llodf^Uin, ItitUi ami Her Inradcrs, vol. iv. (Oxford, 1880) ; Finlay, Uistury of Creecc (Lon- don, 1877). JUTE (Ben<z. jut, from Skt. jatfi, matted hair). A fibre produced from two tropical spe- cies of Tiliaeiu', the C'orehorus olitorius and Cor- chorus capsularis. two plants alike in (pialities, though sli;j;litly difleient in ;ippearance, and sown indiscriminately. From the fibre, which is the cheapest known, are produced gunny bags, gunny- cloth, and cordage: and from the finer cpialities carpets, shirting, eoat-linings, etc., are made. It is extensively used for mixing with silk, cotton, flax, and woolen fabrics, but, owing to its in- feriority, such use of it is a fraud. India is the largest" jute-growing country. The plants grow in most climates and on all Kinds of soil, but rich alluvial lands, and lands subject to salt-water tidal influences, particularly favor its production. It thrives in the Gulf States, but its production in America has not been successful, owing to a lack of machinery adapted to its manufacture. It is an exhausting crop for the soil. The plant, if weeded once, requires no more attention till cutting time. Its single stalk grows to a height of 12 feet without branches or leaves till near the top. In India the plant is cut while in flower, about three months after sowing. Cut close to the ground. stri]iped of leaves and branches, it is tied in bundles and steeped from 10 to 20 days in ■water, to loosen the fibre by rotting the outer bark. After steejiing, the stalks are beaten till only the fibre remains. This is cleaned, dried, and made into 'drums' of 70 or 80 pounds. If for exporlntion. it is pressed into bales of 300 pounds and upward. Fine jute has a beautiful glossy golden ai>pearance, and is soft and silky to tiie touch. Great importance attaches to length and strength of fibre. See Plate of Fibre Plants, under Hfmp. Jute M. if.ctire.s. Jute is spun by processes similar to those employed for flax, but as it is from 10 to 1.5 feet long, it is necessarj- to cut it into three-foot lengths before it can bo heckled. The fibre, which is obtained by macera- tion from the inner bark, also requires to be saturated with whale oil and water, so as to soften and render it more elastic, preparatory to spinning. Heckling is the first of the spinning ojierations, and its object is to remove the coarser portions of the jute, and lay the fibres in parallel order. The heckle is a kind of comb, with sharp- pointed steel teeth, from one to two inches in length. Formerly the work was done by hand, but now heckling-machines are used. Recently the heckling process has iieen omitted and the jute has been spun directly without heckling olT the tow. The heckled strips are next taken to the spreader, or first drawing-frame, where they are spread upon an endless creeping-sheet, so as to supply the jute continuously to another part of the machine^ where, by a peculiar arrangement of rollers, it is drawn out, through combs of closely ranged steel pins, into a continuous rib- bon, called a sliver. A number — say 14 — of these slivers are then taken to another drawing-ma- chine, with steel combs, and drawn out into one. In like manner some twenty of these slivers are again drawn into one. The first sliver from the spreader has thus, so to speak, been drawn out 280 times its original length; and by continuing this doubling and drawing, the fibres become thor- oughly |)ar:illel and (Mpiali/.ed. The sliver from the last drawing-frame is still further drawn out, and at the same time receives a slight twist in the roving-frame. Finally the bobbins of 'rove' are taken to the spinning-frame, and spun into yarn upon the 'throstle' principle. See Si'iN'NiNU. .Just as in the ca.se of llax, the jute tow from the heckling process is also spun into yarn, in which case it is first carded by means of a 'breaker' and 'finisher' card, and then drtnrn, rcvrd, and spun, as above described. The larger porticm of jute fabrips is woven from yarn of the natural color: but for some purposes it is bleaelied; and when used for car- pets, it is dyed various colors. It bleaches with difficulty, biit is easily dyed. Jute fabrics are not neai-ly so durable as fia. (he jute being more brittle and more easily all'ected l)y water. Jute has been manufactured on hand looms by the natives of India for centuries. They made not only the coarse fabric known as gunny, but a fine material which they used for clothing. They also have made a coarse paper, by beating the fibre into pulp, drying it in sheets, sizing it with rice starch, and polishing it with a stone or shell. Since 1857 tlicre have been a large num- ber of jute-mills fitted up with modern textile machinery, and driven by steam, the number in 1800 aggregating ."iS. The first" mention of the word jute is in 1700, in the manuscript commercial index of the court of directors of the Fast India Company. It is the Bengtil name used by the natives of Cuttack and Balasore. where the'first European manufac- tories were established in the middle of the last ccnturv. In 182!) the total export from Calcutta was 20 tons, value £(10. In ls:j;5 it had increased sixteenf<dd. and about 1804-0.') the increased de- mand caused jute cultivation to extend to other districts, the exportation in 1870-80 reaching 4.020.710 hundredweight. In 1807-08 the amount of raw jute exported was 1.5.000.000 hundred- weight, while the exports of jute cloth have - creased in ten years from 37,000.000 to 307.- 000,000 yards. JCTE INDUSTBY IN INDU * Yeae Millst Looms Spindles Employ^B 1888-89 26 27 27 27 27 28 29 29 32 35 7,819 8.104 8,204 8,605 8.976 9.590 10,048 ]0,.579 12.784 13,615 ' 1.52.657 158,326 164.245 174.156 181,179 192,688 201,217 216.139 258.154 274.90T 69.722 1889-90 1890-91 60.630 62.739 66.3.33 1892-93 67,291 69,179 75,175 189.5-96 78.889 1896-97 1897-98 92.269 95,930 • Taken from the Journal of the Society of Arts tor 1899. t Including one hemp-mill. England. Bombay, and America originally di- vided the exports of jute, and up to the time of the Civil War N„rth America took the largest share of the gunnies. (See Gunny.) Jute and