By the middle of the eighteenth century, Bengal exported large quantities of raw jute to supply the flax industry in Dundee.
[2][3][4] He initially had the idea to grow rhea grass to serve as a substitute for flax and hemp, to make up for losses he had acquired through other business ventures.
[6] The mill produced 8 tons of jute yarn per day in its first two years of operation, which were in turn sold to local weavers.
[5] During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Acland hired seamen from the Sailors' Home in Calcutta, along with the staff that operated the mill, to guard his property.
[4][5] This mill prospered primarily because of the British demand for cotton caused by the American Civil War, by providing a supply of jute bags to Bombay (present-day Mumbai).