I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

Like cotton manufacture jute was grafted on to the long established linen industry, notably in Dundee and surroundings where coarse linen - canvas, sail - cloth were the dominant textiles. Jute was first imported to Dundee in 1822 but technical problems prevented its manufacture for at least a decade. Initially the fibre was mixed with flax, then pure jute cloth was produced around 1848 by James Ayton, a linen master.

Jute manufacture expanded rapidly during the 1850s and 60s - thanks partly to industrial demand and partly to the growth of the related linoleum industry in Kirkcaldy. Imports of raw material rose from 9,000 tons in 1848 to 60,000 by 1868 and 170,000 in 1900. The number of mills tripled between 1862 and 1875, with employment reaching an estimated 40,000 - three quarters being female - in1890. Long before this Dundee itself had become a jute-dominated town with 90 per cent of its production being exported from the large integrated mills that dominated the skyline. Not without justification Dundee was christened "juteopolis".

Dundee's monopoly of world jute manufacture was brief. Foreign competition from India and the Continent present an increasing challenge after the 1880s and by World War I had reached serious proportions. Typical of many entrepreneurs of their day the jute producers exploited the workforce by paying low wages and failing to invest in new technology so the impact of the depression was profound. Previously high profits slumped and the recession brought high unemployment among the jute workers. Substantial reconstruction followed World War II, but the industry slowly declined in the face of competition from new materials. Nevertheless, by the 1970s an impressive degree of diversification had been achieved in what remained of the industry, including the manufacture of polypropylene - in congruously the strongest modern rival to jute.
Lenman, B., Lythe, C. and Gauldie, E., Dundee and its Textile Industry 1850 - 1914, Abertay Historical Society, 1969
Walker, W., Juteopolis: Dundee and its Textile Workers, 1885 - 1923, Scottish Academic Press.

Now lets look at some specific dates:

1845 - August 5
Estuary of the River Clyde was reported to be 'alive' with shoals of herring.

1506 - August 10
A "swift and violent" comet was seen in parts of Scotland moving across the sky from north to south.

1932 - August 18
Scots aviator Jim Mollison made the first wet-bound solor crossing of the Atlantic.

1093 - August 24
Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots met William Rufus at Gloucester to discuss disputed territory in Cumberland. The meeting broke up in disarray and war followed.

Source - Scotching the Myths by Jim Hewiston can be found in the History Book Section of Scottish Radiance.

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

Time

There's a gude time coming.
Sir Walter Scott Rob Roy, 1817.

The Berlin wall came down in a day.
Alex Salmond, remarking on the length of time quoted by the Labour Party to set up a Scottish Assembly.

Is treun fear an ẹlais.

The man that knows is powerful.

You can find more articles in the archive under Scottish Flotsam.