Jute

jut, the fiber of a tall herb of India. The jute plant looks like hemp, but, though an herb, it is a member of the basswood family. Its bark yields a fiber, comparable to the inner bark of the basswood, often twelve feet in length, from which gunny-sacks are made. Jute makes a strong rope, subject, however, to rapid decay. A heavy gunnysack trodden underfoot rots much sooner than a light cotton sack. The United States imports immense quantities of jute for sacking. India raises 2,250,000 acres of jute. India sells more jute than rice, the export of jute being second to that of cotton only. The plant seems to do well in the Gulf States, but we lack the cheap labor and facilities of India and can import our gunnysacks more cheaply than we can make them. Jute is used also in the manufacture of carpets. Genuine Afghan curtains, Smyrna rugs, and the tapestries of Teheran and Herat are made of the finer qualities of this material. The inner bark may be divided into a fiber so fine and flossy that it is used in a mixture with silk. Dundee, Scotland, is noted for jute weaving. See Flax; Hemp; Ramie; Sisal; Esparto