[ILLUSTRATION: FIG. 10 HAND-BATCHING DEPARTMENT WITH UNPREPARED AND
PREPARED FIBRE]

The first stall--that next to the oil tank--in Fig. 10 is filled
with the prepared pieces, and the contents are allowed to remain
there for some time, say 24 hours, in order that the material may be
more or less uniformly lubricated or conditioned. At the end of this
time, the pieces are ready to be conveyed to and fed into the
softening machines where the fibres undergo a further process of
bending and crushing.

All softening machines for jute, or softeners as they are often
called, are similar in construction, but the number of pairs of
rollers varies according to circumstances and to the opinions of
managers. Thus, the softener illustrated in Fig. 11, which, in the
form shown, is intended to treat jute from the above-mentioned stalls,
is made with 47, 55, 63 or 71 pairs of rollers or any other number
which, minus 1, is a measure of 8. The sections are made in 8's. The
illustration shows only 31 pairs.

The first pair of rollers--that next to the feed sheet in the
foreground of Fig. 11--is provided with straight flutes as clearly
shown. All the other rollers, however, are provided with oblique
flutes, such flutes making a small angle with the horizontal. What
is often considered as a standard softening machine contains 63
pairs of fluted rollers besides the usual feed and delivery rollers.
As mentioned above, this number is varied according to circumstances.

The lubricated pieces of jute are fed on to the feed roller sheet,
and hence undergo a considerable amount of bending in different ways