Valley of the Dhoon, India. 171 



fessor Jameson), Superintendanb of the Botanic Gardens in 

 the north-west Provinces of India, to introduce the cultiva- 

 tion of this plant in the north-vi^est, and the public have, 

 therefore, been in a measure prepared for the very gratify- 

 ing intelligence now communicated to the community. But 

 the report of the tea-brokers in England on the quality of the 

 article submitted to their inspection, exceeds our most san- 

 guine expectations. They have pronounced it equal to China 

 tea of a superior class, possessing the flavour of the orange 

 pekoe, but more than the usual strength of that tea, in other 

 respects resembling that imported as Ning Yong. One of the 

 gentlemen whose opinion has been obtained, declares, " that 

 the tea shrub in Kemaoon is not only identical with the China 

 plant, and as capable of being made into as fine a description 

 of tea, but also that the soil and climate in Kemaoon are as 

 suited to the favourable growth of the shrub as the finest of 

 the China localities." The tea appears to be as much prized 

 in the district in which it has been raised as it is in England, 

 One hundred and seventy-three seers of it were recently sold 

 at Almorah, and produced from four to five rupees the seer, 

 which was equal to the price of the best tea sold in Calcutta, at 

 the great tea depot of D. Wilson & Co. The price for which 

 it can be raised, according to Dr Jameson's calculation, is so 

 low as to afford the greatest encouragement to the application 

 of capital. He estimates, that if cultivated on a sufficiently 

 large scale, the prime cost in Calcutta, including every ex- 

 pense, would be little more than eight annas a seer, or one- 

 eighth of the present price. Supposing, however, the cost of 

 cultivation, manufacture, and transport, to be double this esti- 

 mate, a sufficient margin of profit would still be left to gra- 

 tify the most sanguine speculator. The capacity of the pro- 

 vinces of Kemaoon and Gurhwall for the enlarged produc- 

 tion of the article, does not, moreover, appear to be limited 

 to particular localities. According to the latest report which 

 has been furnished to the Court, 176 acres were under culti- 

 vation, containing not fewer than 322,579 plants. The crop 

 is thriving in diiferent places over four degrees of latitude 

 and three degrees of longitude, and 100,000 acres are now 

 available in the Dhoon alone for the purposes of t«a cultiva- 



