October i, 1S83.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



245 



THROUGH THE TEA DISTRICTS OF 



NORTH INDIA :— No. V. 



(By a Ceylon Planlei-.) 



TEA-PLAKTING IN DABJILING COMPAEED WITH THE 



HILLY-WSTKICTS OP CEYLON — ABSENCE OF DKAIXS 



AND ROAD-TRACERS— PP.KSENCE OF WEEDS, GOOD BUILD. 



INGS ANDCUKAP GOOD LABODK !•? DAEJILING — PLUCKI.N'G 



LEAF — SIGNPOSTS— MACHINERY AKD MOTIVE POWER. 



Darjiling. 



The lay of laud in tlie Dai'jiiiug liill-disfciict, and 

 the style of plant and of cultivation, is utterly differ- 

 ent to that of Assam, and affords a more valuable 

 basis for comparison with the Ceylou hill country. 

 The soil at the top of the hills is mostly a very 

 stiff clay, similar in appearance to much that we 

 have in some pai'ts of Ceylon, and exceedingly rich 

 and fertile. Lower down, towards the valleys, the 

 soil becomes quite difierent and consists generally 

 of a rich black micaceous loam which is very fi'ee and 

 porous. So stiff is the s»il in parts near tbe ridges 

 th.nt it is almost imi)ossible to walk along the roads 

 without frequent falls, and ponies travel best if 

 rough-shod. 



Generally speaking the estates are as steep as any 

 jjlauted land we have in Ceylon, but the style of 

 cultivation is different to ours. In most cases, the 

 hillside at the commencement is formed into small 

 level terraces, and a row of plants put along each ; 

 frequently, however, the laud is lined in the usual 

 way, up and down hill, is not drained, and yet the 

 wash is trifling in tlie most heavy showers. The 

 secret in this case is the tenacity of the soil and 

 (lie fact that hoeing is only done once or twice early 



.lie season, to open it up, and that, aftei- that tlic 

 Is are only kept down by being cut with sickles. 



Un teiraced land, hoeing can be done more freely, but 

 even here the weeds are generally cut and not dug over 

 the faces of the terraces being carefully treated. Our 

 system of dr.aining does not appear to have been tried: 

 it would, I think, be a success iu stiffland. but in many 

 places there is no tenacious subsoil to cut dovninto and 

 slips would be the only result of any attempt at 

 draining. Tea is, however, generally opened on land 

 which has been i)reviously cultivated and abandoned 

 by natives, and is. consequently, full of weed seed. 

 To attempt to eradicate the weeds, during their rapid 

 growtli in the rains would be most e.xpensive, if not 

 impracticable, and, hence, wash is to a great extent 

 prevented by the thick matting of weeds which cover 

 the ground and hold the soil toge the r. In consequence 

 of this system of cultivation, the ai>pearance of the 

 estates is not pleasing to the eye, the bushes being 

 in many cases almost hidden by the growth of 

 jun.gle. Strange to say, in spite of the numerous 

 nigzag roads that have to be cut to open up the 

 giUtlens, a road-tracer is unknown in the district, 

 and. consequently, the gr.idionts are very uneven and 

 the roads generally steep and bad 



The buildings here are of a very different character 

 to those in Assam, being yii ka as a rale, and 

 more like what we are accustomed to in Ceylon. 

 'J here is a gi-eat deai th of machinery in the 

 district, many large gardens having rolling machines 

 only, and are still firing over stoves. Labour is very 

 cheap, and where a manager is popular with his 

 coolies very plentiful. The labourers are all hill- 

 men, Kepaulese. Lepchas (the inhabitants of British 

 Mkkim) and Booteas. They are all under sirdars, 

 who receive their pay for them, and are recruited 



32 



-ndthout any expense to the garden, small advances 

 recoverable from the coolies' pay being alone given. 

 The rate of pay varies from E3 to Eo'oO a month, 

 and hence Darjiling has the great advantage of jiknti- 

 ful and cheap labour. 



Tliere is one drawback, however. It is the custom 

 in many localities to give up a large portion of tlie 

 waste laud belonging to the estate to the coolies for 

 the cultivation of Indian corn. In some valleys, 

 hundreds of acres of line land are seen cultivated 

 ill this way, and the loss to the gardens is not 

 apparent in any system of accounts, but none the 

 less, xeal and serious, must be very gi'eat. At 

 the present time land fit for tea cannot be obtained 

 in the neighbourhood of DarjUing by any means, 

 and hence the waste of good soil in the waj' just 

 mentioned is the more deplorable. 



Continuous crops of native produce are taken off 

 the same soU by the coolies in hundreds of acres 

 of land, without the payment of any rent or the 

 application of any manure ; and the loss by exhaustion, 

 wash and introcluction of weeds, must be enomious. 

 Not only this, but iu a good (grain) year, the man- 

 ager has frequently gi-eat difficulty in inducing his 

 well-fed coolies to work at all, for they have no in- 

 ducement to. As regards transport, the district is 

 well served by the railway to its centre, though there 

 are general complaints of delaj' in the transport of 

 goods, which is excusable in view of the difficulties 

 under which the line has been worked of late. 



'I he hill labourers are very well accustomed to 

 carry very heavy loads uphill, and it is wonderful 

 to see the weight they can take up to the station. 

 A maund-chest, weighing perhaps l.SO lb. gross, is 

 nothing to them, and I saw one man carrying a 

 chest and a half, M'hich cannot have been less than 

 170 or 180 lb. 



The method of carrying is that which is, I believe, 

 common to all hillmen — a strap is jiassed rounl the 

 bottom of the IShd and o\er the forehead, -which, 

 with the back, supports the entire weight. The weight 

 is thus distributed ov'er the whole of the upper part 

 of the body iu a way which enables enormous loads 

 to be carried up steep hills which could not be taken 

 for any distance on the flat by the method in vogue 

 amongst Tamils. In appearance, as in character, the 

 Lepchas, Ncpaulese and Bhooteas are very diOerent to 

 the Bengalis \'* hen well treated, they ai-e a most 

 cheerful, willing race, an! make capital garden coolies. 

 There is no laliour law affecting them in Darjiling, 

 and the vexatious returns and espion.age which pre- 

 vail in A-sam arc here unknown. With no agree- 

 ment, the coolies, if mismanaged, are given to leaving 

 in a body, without any notice, — but this is a vei-y 

 rare occurrence, their extensive plantations of Indian 

 corn anil other gi-ain acting as a powerful induce- 

 ment to them to settle in one spot. The British 

 frontier being so very close, it says much for 

 their honesty that cases of robbery and bolting 

 are rare in the extreme, although it is the usual 

 thin;i to send a few coolies and a siular alone to the sta- 

 tion fur cash, which they might easily make off with, if 

 so inclined, with very smail risk to themselves. The 

 type of countenance of the Lei^chaux Bhooteas is de- 

 cidedly jiongolian. The men are ver\' ugly, though 

 many of them have pleasing faces ; a few of the 

 womin are nice-looking, but they are the exceiition. 

 The latter liave a custom of n earing their savings in 

 rupees strung together and fastened round the neck, 

 V. liich would appear to offer oppoi tunities for robbery 

 though such rarely if ever occurs. The Nepanlese are 

 by far the handsomest race of three. They come 

 from Independent 'lerritory to the gardens, and take, 

 full advantage cf tlie concessions which Goveninient 

 make to native settlers here as elsewhere. 



