Business & Finance: Jute

The Sanskrit word for fibre is jhat. In the Indian province of Orissa a tall, reedlike plant called jhut has long been cultivated for its fibre, which is used in making sackcloth and twine. But the best place in India for jute growing is the neighboring province of Bengal, whose alluvial plains between the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers produce at least 85% of the world's crop. Last week while U. S. farmers were harvesting a bumper crop with combines (see p. 15), Bengali farmers with sickles were beginning to cut more than 2,000,000 acres...

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