DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 131 



time of the year the soil contains much moisture, which, combined with the atmos- 

 pheric warmth, brings the seeds to germination in a few days ; the young plants will 

 appear about the fourth or fifth day after sowing, when they will rapidly advance 

 in growing, requiring no care whatever. As long as there is sufficient moisture in 

 the soil the plant should be let alone, but as soon as the ground begins to be dry 

 irrigation should be resorted to. In order to insure a most regular and effective 

 soaking of the soil, I would advise to draw furrows in both directions about 4 

 inches wide, and as deep, at regular distances of 10 or 12 feet. If the soil is natu- 

 rally rich no fertilizing in connection with irrigation is required; in the case, how- 

 ever, of the soil being poor, or humus being insufficiently represented in it, addi- 

 tional fertilizing should be given, and for this purpose I would advise to put in 

 cotton-seed meal, mixed with water a few days before its use; the meal will rot and 

 the irrigation water will carry it where it will become available for the young plants. 

 A jute plantation must be kept moist, avoiding an excess of irrigation in order to 

 keep the ground as far as possible in a temperate warmth. If the plant has attained 

 the age of four weeks its rank growth will prevent the sunbeams from penetrating 

 to the soil, so it will for a long time preserve the needed moisture and consequently 

 keep the soil soft and mellow, allowing the roots to absorb the needed chemical con- 

 stituents, and permitting organic and mineral plant food to decompose so as to render 

 them lit to be drunk by the plants. In case of broadcast sowing, 22 to 25 pounds of 

 seed should be used, waiting if possible until after a rain ; or if natural precipitation 

 is lacking, after a soaking of the soil by irrigation. The manure in this case should 

 be spread as uniformly as possible before harrowing, and after sowing the soil 

 should be smoothed by a common field roller in order to press the seeds in the 

 ground, granting them in this way every chance of germination." 



The quantity of seed sown per acre varies greatly in the different districts of Ben- 

 gal, ranging from 1 seer per bega in Hooghly to 6£ seers in Burdwan. A seer is 1 

 pound 13 ounces. This would give in English equivalents 5^ pounds to llf pounds 

 per acre. Twelve to 15 pounds to the acre are generally accepted as the average, 

 though Spon states that 22 to 28 pounds are required. The yield of seed per acre in 

 India is about 4i maunds, or nearly 400 pounds. The season for putting the seed 

 into the ground extends from February to June, though March and April are the 

 months usually selected. As in the case of plowing, so in the period of sowing, there 

 are marked differences; but the mode of sowing is with one exception alike every- 

 where. The seeds are sown broadcast on a clear, sunny day, and covered with a 

 thin crust of earth, either by the hand or by a "binda," or harrow, or a "moi," or 

 ladder, or, as in Bhaugulpore and Julpigoree, by beams of wood drawn over the 

 held by oxen. Little or no after cultivation is given, and no care further than to 

 thin out the weaker plants where a field is overcrowded. Ordinarily, the space left 

 between plants is 6 inches, though in some localities more space is left, sometimes 8 

 to 10 inches. The plants mature in about three months, so that the harvest of a crop 

 sown in March or April will come in June and July, the May and June sowings 

 maturing in September and October. 



Extraction of the Fiber. — Machinery has never been used for this purpose in 

 India, and the fiber is separated from the stalks by retting or steeping for a week or 

 more in water. In Mr. Kerr's report it is stated that the almost universal practice 

 is to ret in stagnant water, " especially such as contains a large proportion of decom- 

 posing vegetation," which expedites the retting process. It is stated, further, that 

 the ryots go down into the pools and, standing waist deep," thrash the water with 

 handfuls of the retted stalks to facilitate the separation of the fiber. In referring 

 to the India practice the author does not recommend it, as few American farm 

 laborers North or South could be found who would adopt it any more than Euro- 

 pean laborers will pull flax by hand after becoming residents of the United States, 

 if they can avoid it. Plainly, then, successful jute culture in the United States 

 can only be brought about by the use of machinery for extracting the fiber. See 

 Appendix A. 



