姚(余姚)、慈(慈溪)两县位于浙江东部,地当四明山与杭州湾南岸之间,境内自南而北包括四明山地、姚江平原、三北平原和海滨涂地四个明显的地带,生产地域类型也依次递变,由山林、稻区、棉区到盐区。

The I'ao-tze rice and cotton area is situated in the northeastern pact of Chekiang Province. Its northern part was originally a shallow- marsh land along the coast of the Hongchow Bay. Through several centuries the inhabitants of the area have constructed artificial dikes around it and brought it under cultivation. The area has a very fertile soil, with rice and cotton as its main crops. Its population has increased rapidly, and both its rural and urban settlements are rather big in size. It is the most prosperous part of Chckiang Province. The utilization of the rural labour power was irrational in the past. Since the founding of the people's communes, there has been development of mechanization of farming, extension of multiple cropping area, and promotion of diversified econom)一Throughout the area, the landscape is characterized by the most intensive land utiliza-tion. Through organizing the collective economy, the communes employ the rural labour power rationally and ensure a continued rise in the people's living standard. Because of the difference in the rate of attendance between busy and slack farming seasons, the communes also make a rational deployment of rural labuuc power for the purpose of the integration of work and rest. Although the density of the peasant population in the area as a vyhulc is high, strik-ina differentiation is also evident in its various parts. The density figures in the northern part exceed those in the southern purr. The highest may be tm times the lowesr. Thus, rhere is a tendency of migration of population within the area.