What is Jute?
By: Ryan W. and Nick G.
What is jute?
Where is jute from?
How does Ludlow encompass jute in their history?
In our group we read Jute: An Account of its Growth and Manufacture, published by the Ludlow Manufacturing Associates in 1928. This book explains the detailed life of jute, from the process by which it was grown in Bengal, India to how it was sold in Ludlow in the 1920’s. Jute is a plant that stands at an average height of ten feet. The growth of jute was a lengthy process that required a large amount of physical labor and attention. The first step of this process was plowing the fields with nothing more than a primitive bullock drawn wooden plow. The next steps were “laddering” and beating the soil with mallets. This was followed by the sowing of the jute seed. After the farmers sowed the seed, it needed to be weeded throughout the season and was cut down somewhere between July and October. These plants still needed a great deal of work before they were able to be sent to America. The jute was then soaked in water, peeled and extracted from the surrounding fibers. After this, the jute was bundled up and shipped to Boston, Massachusetts, and then to Ludlow. Once the jute reached Ludlow, the Ludlow Manufacturing Company produced a number of products.
Field of high land jute grown in India Jute: An Account of Its Growth and Manufacture |
Preparing the soil to plant jute Jute: An Account of Its Growth and Manufacture |
This book was probably published by the Ludlow Manufacturing Associates to inform the town of Ludlow what was being produced in the mills and how it was being produced. At this time many people may not have been aware that the products manufactured at the Ludlow mills were coming from a plant that grew on the other side of the world. This book describes how the plant got to Ludlow and what happened to it once it got here.
Further soil preparation
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Stripping the bark and extracting jute fiber
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