lose textures.

The cuttings may be partially loosened by means of blows from a
heavy iron bar; boiling water is then poured on the fibre, and then
the material is built up with room left for expansion, and allowed
to remain in this condition for a few days. A certain quantity of
this material may then be used along with other marks of jute to
form a batch suitable for the intended yarn.

A very common practice is to cut the hard root ends off by means of
a large stationary knife. At other times, the thin ends of the
stricks are also cut off by the same instrument. These two parts are
severed when it is desired to utilize only the best part of the
strick. The root ends are usually darker in colour than the remainder,
and hence the above process is one of selection with the object of
securing a yarn which will be uniform in colour and in strength.

CHAPTER VII. CARDING

_Breaker and Finisher Cards_. After the fibre from the softening
machine has been conditioned for the desired time, it is ready for
one of the most important processes in the cycle of jute manufacture;
this process is termed carding, and is conducted in two distinct
types of machines--

1. The breaker card.
2. The finisher card.

The functions of the two machines are almost identical; indeed, one
might say that the work of carding should be looked upon as one
continuous operation.

The main difference between the two types of machines is in the
method of feeding, and the degree of fineness or setting of the
small tools or pins which perform the work. 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. The pins of the slowly-moving roller hold, so
to speak, the strick, while the pins of the quickly-moving roller
comb out the fibres and split adhering parts asunder so as to make a
comparatively fine division.

The conditioned stricks from the softening machine are first
arranged in some suitable receptacle and within easy reach of the
operative at the back or feed side of the breaker card. A receptacle,
very similar to that used at the breake