one which may perhaps attain a much more important position in the
near future amongst our national manufacturing processes. As a
matter of fact, at the present time, huge extensions are
contemplated and actually taking place in India.




CHAPTER II. CULTIVATION

_Botanical and Physical Features of the Plant_. Jute fibre is
obtained from two varieties of plants which appear to differ only in
the shape of the fruit or seed vessel. Thus, the fruit of the
variety _Corchorus Capsularis_ is enclosed in a capsule of
approximately circular section, whereas the fruit of the variety
_Corchorus Olitorius_ is contained in a pod. Both belong to the
order _Tiliacea_, and are annuals cultivated mostly in Bengal and
Assam.

Other varieties are recorded, e.g. the _Corchorus Japonicus_ of Japan,
and the _Corchorus Mompoxensis_ used in Panama for making a kind of
tea, while one variety of jute plant is referred to in the book of
job as the Jew's Mallow; this variety _C. Olitorius_, has been used
in the East from time immemorial as a pot herb.

The two main varieties _C. Capsularis_ and _C. Olilorius_ are
cultivated in Bengal for the production of fibre, while for seed
purposes, large tracts of land are cultivated in Assam, and the
seeds exported for use principally in Mymensingh and Dacca.