§ MR. MONDTo ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the increase in the price of jute, owing to the shortage in supply, whereby the price of bags and other products made from jute has been very seriously affected to the detriment of trade in this country; and whether, in 623 view of these circumstances, the Government will take steps to encourage a greater cultivation of jute.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) I understand that the shortage is due to a great and rapid increase of demand, as the area under jute and the yield have steadily increased. In the districts of Eastern Bengal in which the plant is grown its cultivation has extended to soils not altogether suitable for it. The improvement of the crop and the introduction of the plant into other parts of India are engaging the careful attention of the Government of India and of local governments, and experiments are in progress. An experienced agricultural chemist has been added as a jute specialist to the staff of the Agricultural Department of Bengal, and action has been taken on his recommendation that cultivation should be tried in the Godaveri delta, in the Madras Presidency, and in other similar tracts.