The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-01-30

soil and climate are aaaPt-
ed to the growth of Jute. That
It attains its best growth with
us on low and medium lands
where the drainage IS good, and
seems we'll suited for cultivation
on our inland swamp lands and
river bottoms, the more partlcu-
larlv SO as the plant when 1t has
attained a few months growth IS
not damaged by an overflow 50
long as the heads Of the stalk
are above water.
When intended for seed it
should be sown in drills as early
as possible after the land IS free
from frost, as it requires with
US six to seven months to ma
ture its seed, and the average
date of our first killing frost Is
about 10Th November but for
a fibre crop it may be sown any
time from 1st April to 10th
June, as it will be ready to cut
in four months from time of
sowing.
The following extracts from
the report of a committee ap-
pointed by the Lieutenant Gov
ernor of Bengal, in the year
1873, to investigate the condl-
ton of Jute culture in East
India, will be Of use to those
who intend cultivatingthe plant
in this country:
"High lands, low lands, recent
alluvial formation, dry lands and
humid, are all more or less en-
p!oyed in cultivating the plant;
on alluvial formations and on
saline marshes it hourishes we'll
often in water waist deep.
"After a thorough i~nvestiga-
ton it is concluded it grows best
on high lands, next best on
medium or alluvial formations,
and then on low lands. 1t grows
better when there is good mix
ture of clay and sand, or sand
combined with alluvial deposits
or loan mixed with a little sand
but gravelly soil is not adapted
to the successful growth of the
plant alternate rain and sun
shine are found to be most con-
genial to the Jute plant, but ex-
cessive rain after the plant has
attained a height of two or three
feet will not prove injurious.
"For fire the plant is usually
cut when in flower. At such
time the quality of the fibre is
superior. when cut, the plant
is stacked in the field for two
days and then stepped III water,
for which purpose pools, stag
nant ponds and running streams
are used.
The rotting process requires
from two or three days to a
month, being regulated by the
kind of water used, the tempera-
ture, and the condition of the
plant when cut, whether in
flower, when the fibre is easily
separated, or in the seed when
the bark is tough and hard.
THE fibre is separated from
the stalk by drawing the woody
stalk out Of it by a sudden Jerk
while in the water. The fibre
is then cleaned from all impuri-
ties in the same water and put
out to dry for about three days,
when it is put in bales and sent
to market.
"The yield per acre varies very
widely, while in some districts
it will not average more than
six to eight hundred pounds, in
the larger Jute growing districts
it averages from fifteen hun
dred to three thousand and in
some reaches thirty-six hundred
and forty-eight hundred pounds.
1t is estimated by the committee
that In the sixteen districts in
which Jute is grown SIC, 600
acres are devoted to it, and about
one million and a half people
engaged in its cultivation.
The exports from India had
increased from four thousand
pounds in 1928 to eight hundred