the flat areas of Bengal as alluvial
deposits, and thus provides an ideal layer of soil for the
propagation of the jute plants.

The cultivation of land for the growing of jute plants is most
extensively conducted in the centres bordering on the courses of the
rivers, and particularly in Mymensingh, Dacca, Hooghly and Pabna,
and while 90 per cent. of the fibre is produced in Bengal, Orissa
and Bihar, there is 10 per cent. produced outside these areas.

The _Corchorus Capsularis_ variety is usually cultivated in the
higher and richer soils, while the _Corchorus Olitorius_ variety is
most suited for the lower-lying alluvial soils, and to the districts
where the rainfall is irregular; indeed, the _C. Olitorius_ may be
grown in certain other districts of India which appear quite
unsuitable for the _C. Capsularis_.

The farming operations in India are rather simple when compared with
the corresponding operations in this country; there is evidently not
the same necessity for extensive working of the Indian soil as there
is for the heavier lands; another reason for the primitive Eastern
methods may be the absence of horses.

The ploughs are made of wood and faced with iron. Bullocks, in teams
of two or more, are harnessed to the plough as shown in Fig. 1 where
a field is being ploughed as a preliminary process in jute
cultivation. The bullocks draw the plough in much the same way as
horses do in this country.

The operation of ploughing breaks up the soil, while the rough clods
may be broken by hand mallets or by the use of the "hengha"--a piece
of tree boll harnessed at the ends to a pair of bullocks.

The breaking up of the land prepares it for the cleaning process
which is performed by what are termed "ladders"; these ladders are
made of a few bamboos fixed cross-wise and provided with projecting
pins to scratch or open the soil, and to collect the roots of the
previous crop; they are the equivalent of our harrows, and may be
used repeatedly during the winter and spring seasons so that a fine
tilth may be produced.

When manure is essential, it is applied in the later ploughings, but
other large areas have artificial or chemical manures added at
similar stages in the process. Farm-yard manure is preferred, but
castor-cake and the water hyacinth--a weed--constitute good
substitutes.

After the soil has been satisfactorily prepared, the seed is sown by
hand at the period which appears most suitable for the partic