In the south and south-east of the district the lands are low, the rivers are tidal, and there are many bils or morasses. In the north and north-west the land is higher, having been raised by the deposit of silt from the rivers which traverse it. This process has now stopped owing to the rivers having silted up at their head, the result of which is that the periodical inundations, which used to occur when they were in flood, have ceased. In the Jhenida subdivision there have been no floods for the last 15 years, and the country is the poorer for it; while in the Magura subdivision the floods are now comparatively slight and the land is not fertilized to the same extent as formerly. In the higher tract to the north, jute, tobacco, sugarcane and various cold weather crops are grown in addition to rice (chiefly the aus or autumn crop), and the date-palm is extensively cultivated. The country to the south, which is lower and less thickly populated, is chiefly under paddy cultivation, aman or winter rice predominating.

The soil in the north of the district is highly fertile; it is formed half of clay and half of sand, although towards the west the clay preponderates. The tract lying between the Nabaganga and the Kumar was formerly a vast swamp, but has been reclaimed and yields abundant harvests of rice. In the Magura subdivision the soil is loamy for a depth of six or seven feet, and below that it is sandy; but in some parts it is so hard, that it is almost impervious to the spade and cannot be prepared for cultivation unless it is softened by inundation. In the Narail subdivision clay predominates near the bil lands, and elsewhere the soil is loamy.

In low-lying depressions lying between rivers, there is a heavy clay suited to rice cultivation, which is called matial. Outside this area the soil may be broadly subdivided into two classes-(1) doas (half-clay and half-sand), and (2) balia (sandy). Doas is a loose friable soil, brown in colour; it comes next to matial in point of productiveness and is very favourable to the [Page 50] growth of aus, jute and rabi crops. Balia is a poor sandy soil, which yields a scanty harvest of aus and jute, but is fit for oil seeds, melons, etc.

Land on the outskirts of bils is locally known as samka matial or kharya matial. This soil contains traces of limestone in its composition and becomes loose on absorbing rain water. It is less productive than matial. The date trees, which are reared in large numbers all over the district, thrive on lands known as nonopanta or raspanta. The retention of moisture is one of the chief characteristics of this soil, which comes under the category of doas and has a reddish tinge. Lands of this kind are found in patches all over the district.