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.

The above two varieties of the jute plant vary in height from 5 to 15 feet, and, in a normal season, reach maturity in about four months from the time of sowing.  In some districts the stems of jute plants are sometimes rather dark in colour, but, in general, they are green or pink, and straight with a tendency to branch.  The leaves are alternate on the stems, 4 to 5 inches in length, and about 1-1/2 inches in breadth with serrated edges.  Pale yellow flowers spring from the axil (axilla) of the leaves, and there is an abundance of small seeds in the fruit which, as mentioned, is characteristic of the variety.

While many attempts have been made to cultivate jute plants in various parts of the world, the results seem to indicate that the necessary conditions for the successful cultivation of them are completely fulfilled only in the Bengal area, and the geographical position of this province is mainly responsible for these conditions.  On referring to a map of India, it will be seen that Bengal is directly north of the bay of that name, and is bounded on the north by the great Himalayan mountains.

During the winter period when the prevailing winds are from the north, large areas of the mountainous regions are covered with snow, but when the winds change and come from the south, and particularly during the warmer weather, the moist warm air raises the general temperature and also melts much of the snow on the mountain tracts.  The rain and melted snow swell the two great rivers on the east and west of Bengal—­the Patna and the Brahmaputra—­and the tremendous volume of water carries down decayed vegetable and animal matter which is ultimately spread on 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.