Lorri Dunn, age 12, of Visalia, Calif., for her question:

WHY IS IT CALLED A GUNNY SACK?

Gunny is a coarse, strong jute cloth used mainly to make burlap sacks. The word comes from the Hindu word goni, which means sack. In the textile industry, gunny refers to inexpensive burlap. A gunny sack is a burlap bag.

Burlap is a heavy cloth woven with yarns made from fibers of jute. It is also sometimes called Hessian cloth.

Burlap is light tan in color, but it can also be dyed other colors. The main use of burlap is for bags used in the industrial and agricultural areas. It is also used as a base for linoleum and as a supporting fabric in upholstered furniture and automobile seats. wide width burlap is used as backing for carpets.