Peter Kilgour

“ The last and most important method of making a warp, No. 4 method, for the weaver is that where, in addition to the simultaneous processes of warping and beaming as exemplified in the last example, all the threads are coated with some suitable kind of starch or size immediately they reach the two rollers shown in the supplementary frame in Fig. 29. The moistened threads must, however, be dried before they reach the loom beam. When a warp is starched, dried and beamed simultaneously, it is said to be "dressed." ”

“ What are known as cuttings are often treated by a special machine known as a "root-opener." The jute cuttings are fed into the machines and the fibre rubbed between fixed and rotating pins in order to loosen the matted ends of stricks. Foreign matter drops through the openings of a grid to the floor, and the fibre is delivered on to a table, or, if desired, on to the feed sheet of the softener. ”

“ In the machine under consideration, the feed and delivery rollers of the card stop simultaneously with the stoppage of the draw-head mechanism.
One of the chief aims in spinning is that of producing a uniform thread; uniform not only in section, but in all other respects. A so-called level thread refers, in general, to a uniform diameter, but there are other equally, if not more, important phases connected with the full sense of the word uniform. ”

“ The final machine used in the conversion of rove to the size of yarn required is termed the spinning frame. The actual process of spinning is performed in this machine, and, although the whole routine of the conversion of fibre into yarn often goes under the name of spinning, it is obvious that a considerable number of processes are involved, and an immense amount of work has to be done before the actual process of spinning is attempted. ”

“ 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" ”

“ Five hundred spools of warp yarn would be placed in the two wings of a V-shaped bank, and the threads from these spools taken in regular order, and threaded through the splits or openings of a reed which is placed in a suitable position in regard to the winding-on mechanism. Some of the machines which perform the winding-on of the yarn are comparatively simple, while others are more or less complicated. In some the loom beam rotates at a fixed number of revolutions per minute, while in others the beam rotates at a gradually decreasing number of revolutions per minute. ”

“ The rain and melted snow swell the two great rivers on the east and west of Bengal--the Patna and the Brahmaputra--and the tremendous volume of water carries down decayed vegetable and animal matter which is ultimately spread on the flat areas of Bengal as alluvial deposits, and thus provides an ideal layer of soil for the propagation of the jute plants. ”

“ A glance into the records of the textile industries will reveal the fact that the jute fibre was practically unknown in these islands a hundred years ago. Unsuccessful attempts were certainly made to import the fibre into Great Britain in the latter part of the 18th century, and it has been used in India for centuries in the making of cord, twine and coarse fabrics, because the fibre is indigenous to that country. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The sliver from each can is then placed into the corresponding sliver guide, and thus the full width of the machine is occupied. The slivers are guided by the sliver guides on to an endless cloth or "feed sheet" which, in turn, conveys them continuously between the feed rollers. The feed apparatus in such machines is invariably of the roller type, and sometimes it involves what is known as a "porcupine" roller. It will be understood that the feeding of level slivers is a different problem from that which necessitates the feeding of comparatively uneven stricks. ”

“ Jute fibre is obtained from two varieties of plants which appear to differ only in the shape of the fruit or seed vessel. Thus, the fruit of the variety Corchorus Capsularis is enclosed in a capsule of approximately circular section, whereas the fruit of the variety Corchorus Olitorius is contained in a pod. Both belong to the order Tiliacea, and are annuals cultivated mostly in Bengal and Assam. ”

“ Machine batching is preferred by many firms because the application of oil and water, and the proportion of each, are much more uniform than they are by the above mentioned process of hand batching. On the other hand, there is no time for conditioning the fibre because the lubrication and the softening are proceeding simultaneously, although conditioning may proceed while the fibre remains in the cart after it has left the softener. ”

“ The usual way in machines for dressing jute yarns is to drive the beam support and the beam by means of friction plates. A certain amount of slip is always taking place--the drive is designed for this purpose--and the friction plates are adjusted by the yarn dresser during the operation of dressing to enable them to draw forward the beam, and to slip in infinitesimal sections, so that the yarn is drawn forward continuously and at uniform speed. ”

“ In both cases the action on the stricks of jute is equivalent to a combined combing and splitting movement, and the pins in the various rollers move relatively to each other so that while the pins of a slowly-moving roller allow the strick or stricks (because there are several side by side) to pass slowly and gradually from end to end, the pins of another but quickly-moving roller perform the splitting and the combing of the fibre. ”

“ CHAPTER IV. ASSORTING AND BALING JUTE FIBRE
The Indian raw jute 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. ”

“ The yarn has certainly to be wound upon the bobbin and at the same rate as it is delivered from the drawing or delivery rollers, but in the spinning frame the bobbin, which rotates on the spindle, is not driven positively, as in the roving frame, by wheel gearing; each spinning bobbin is actually driven by the yarn being pulled round by the arm of the flyer and just sufficient resistance is offered by the pressure or tension of the "temper band" and weight. ”

“ If the cloth in process of being finished is for use as the backing or foundation of linoleum, it is invariably wound on to a wooden centre as it emerges from the bowls of the calender, measured as well, and the winding-on mechanism is of a friction drive somewhat similar to that mentioned in connection with the dressing machine. Cloths for this purpose are often made up to 600 yards in length; indeed, special looms, with winding appliances, have been constructed to weave cloths up to 2,000 yards in length. Special dressing machines and loom beams have to be made for the latter kind. ”

“ If all the threads of the newly-dressed warp can be tied on to the ends of the warp which has been woven, it is only necessary, when the tying-on process is completed, to rotate the loom beam slowly, and simultaneously to draw forward the threads until all the knots have passed through the cambs and the reed, and sufficiently far forward to be clear of the latter when it approaches its full forward, or beating up, position during the operation of weaving. ”

“ It is only natural to expect that a certain amount of the fibrous material will escape from the rollers; this forms what is known as card waste. And in all subsequent machines there is produced, in spite of all care, a percentage of the amount fed into the machine which is not delivered as perfect material. All this waste from various sources, e.g. thread waste, rove waste, card waste, ropes, dust-shaker waste, etc., is ultimately utilized to produce sliver for heavy sacking weft. ”

“ When the yarn leaves the spinning frame, or the twisting frame, it is made up according to requirements, and the general operations which follow spinning and twisting are,--reeling, cop-winding, roll or spool winding, mill warping or link warping. ”

“ In regard to cloth manufacture, most yarns are utilized in the form they leave the spinning frame, that is, as single yarns. On the other hand, for certain branches of the trade, weaving included, it is necessary to take two, three, or more of these single yarns and to combine them by a process technically termed twisting, and sometimes "doubling" when two single yarns only are combined. ”

“ It will be understood that, in the yearly production of such a large quantity of jute fibre from various districts, and obtained from plants which have been grown under variable climatic and agricultural conditions, in some cases the fibre will be of the finest type procurable, while in other cases it will be of a very indifferent type and unsuitable for use in the production of the ordinary classes of yarns and fabrics. ”

“ If the water supply is deficient in the vicinity where the plants are grown, it may be advantageous to convey the fibrous layers to some other place provided with a better supply of water for the final washing and drying; imperfect retting and cleaning are apt to create defects in the fibre, and to cause considerable trouble or difficulties in subsequent branches of the industry. ”