being imported, but the home manufacture is far from sufficient to supply
the needs of the country. _ , ,
Among the 11 existing linen-mills in Sweden, mention may be made
of Almedal, Jonsered, established 1833, Dalsjofors, and Holma^(Tidaholm),
with a total production-value of nearly 7V2 million kronor in yam and
stuffs. The reason that the linen trade is of subordinate significance, in
spite of the fact that flax of splendid quality can be produced in Sweden,
must be sought for, partly in the increasing popularity of cotton
stuffs, partly, and more especially, in the difficulty of obtaining sufficient
raw material of even quality, and, finally, in the difficulty there is in
obtaining labour for the troublesome preparation of the fibres. The
country people do not carry on the retting in a rational way; the sorting
of the flax purchased by the factory proves difficult to do, and the
product thus becomes very uneven. Attempts have been made in Hal-
singland at retting the flax on a large scale, by purchasing the raw flax
from the peasantry, and manufacturing the flax into yarn and linen-cloth.
The chief difficulty is to secure a sufficient supply of raw flax. In 1912
there were 15 200 linen-spindles and 1 000 linen-looms at work in Sweden,
and the value of the production has more then doubled during the last ten
Jute (Corchorus capsularis), a raw material of this class, has of late
years become the object of a rapidly developed and most extensive trade,
the leading representatives of which are Skandinaviska Jutespinneri- och
vaveri-aktiebolaget (Jute factory) at Oskarstrom (which turns out goods
to a value of about 3 000 000 kronor annually) and Svenska Jutevaveriak-
tiebolaget, Sodertalje (established 1889, and employing about 360 hands
T able 82. Imports and Exports of Flax and Hemp, and Articles manufactured
from them. In quintals.
Annually
Flax Hemp Tarn and thread
of flax and hemp
Linen and hemp 1
cloth
Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports
1861—65 . . . 2 315 34 17109 27 194 1 1366 91
1866—70 . . . 3 544 576 16 641 17 432 5 2 433 339 i
1871—75 . . . 4 398 485 19 443 38 1159 6 5 395 586
1876—80 . . . 5 469 147 16 023 61 1209 3 3 295 503
1881—85 . . . 5140 27 15 992 208 1 596 27 3 548 463
1886—90 . . . 5 845 4 16 797 139 1489 1 2 984 358
1891—95 . . . 7 256 _,__, 18 681 130 1661 1 3933 211
1896—00 . . . 6 622' . , ___ .■ 22 472 46 3 000 18 5 891 108
1901—05 . . . 11583 152 25208 234 2739 32 4 995 74
1906-10 . . . 16 483 71 26 832 38 2 056 195 5 447 116
1908 ................ 14 327 98 30 381 65 1548 38 4 395 108
1909 ................ 13 303 40 22 511 ' 9 1983 298 5177 111
1910................ 18 447 103 26 361 17 2 080 629 5987 130
1911................ 17 268 31032 21 2 261 1051 7 531 138
1912 . . . . . 25102 30187 103 2 803 683 4867 242