260 



|rHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1884. 



clayey sub-soil, conditions in which tea flourishes. 

 Of C. pubesccns 132,000 were raised ; hybrids and 

 others 51,000, Ledgerianas 4,356, Calisayas 902, 

 Carthagena 3 and Santa Fi 2. We may take it for 

 granted, therefore, that the Nilgiri plantations will 

 •henceforward be specially devoted to the best varieties 

 of officinalis, Ledgeriana, pubescens and other hybrids, 

 to the exclusion of succirubra. Those who, in Ceylon, 

 have large numbers of red bark trees, will not fail 

 to note these circumstances. There are figures for 

 out-lurn of bark collected, which show that in British 

 Sikkim the annual collection has risen from 261,659 

 lb. in 1878-79 to 396,980 lb. in 1S83. On the Nilgiris 

 the collections had varied from 114,847 lb. in the 

 first-named year to 250,000 in 1881 and 1882 re- 

 spectively, and 135,017 in 1883. Most of the Nilgiri 

 bark has hitherto been sold in the open market, but 

 it seems probable that either a local manufactory of 

 febrifuge will be established as in Sikkim, or that 

 the bark will be sent to London chemists to be manu- 

 factured on account of Government. The figures for 

 expenditure, produce and receipts show, that, in 

 a mere money-point-of-vicw, the experiment of intro- 

 ducing the cinchonas to India has paid the Govern- 

 ment well. The figures for the cultivation in private 

 plantations are very imperfect, no information being 

 available for the Nilgiris, where the vast majority of 

 the private plantations exist. The returns as they 

 stand give : — 



For Bengal... 331 acres 

 ,, Mysore... 23 ,, 



,, Coorg ... 1,086 ,, (calculated at S00 



plants to the acre) 



Total 1,440 ,, 

 The plants returned for Coorg are 868,725 in the field 

 aud 177,000 (only !) of seedlings. We have no doubt 

 that, if the Nilgiri and Wynaad plantations were in- 

 cluded, we should get for British India, in private 

 hands at least, 5,000 acres under cinchona, with 

 1,000,000 plants in the field and an equal number 

 in nurseries. But it seems a great pity that planters 

 do not supply reliable statistics. 



In regard to tea cultivation, which for many years 

 back has been entirely in private hands, the case 

 is better, although in some respects there are serious 

 defects. Could we accept the figures as they stand, 

 we should take the number of tea estates which 

 existed in India in 1882 at 3,407. But it is clear 

 that the figures opposite Kangra, 1,890 estates (!) are 

 made up by including small patches of tea. For, 

 against the 1,S90 estates are shown only 5.3S6 acres 

 under mature plants, and 2,257 under immature, the 

 total area under tea being thus 7,643, or only an 

 average of 4 acres for each estate. In all Assam 

 only 1,017 estates are shown, so that we may safely 

 substitute 90 for 1S90 in the case of Kangra, thus 

 reducing the total of estates in India to 1,607 '! Of 

 the 1,017 estates phown in the nine districts of 

 Assam, 156,707 acres were stated to be under mature 

 plants aud 22,144 under immature, total area under 

 tea 178,857. In addition there were 604,511 taken 

 up for planting but not yet planted, so that there 

 is a vast reserve available for extensions. The total 

 yield of tea in 18S2 was 45,472,941 lb., which gave 

 an average yield per acre for all Assam of 290 lb. 

 But the averages varied thus : — 



Cachar ... ...2811b. 



Sylhet ... ... 276 „ 



Goalpura ... ... 297 ,, 



Kamrup ... ... 180 ,, 



Darraug ... ... 361 ,, 



Nowgoug ... ... 367 ,, 



Sibsugar ... ... 322 „ 



Lakhimpur ... ... 247 „ 



Khasi and Jaintia Hills ... 80 ,, 

 The latter figures ought to be excluded for they 



refer to only one estate with 20 acres bearing. The 

 average yield of Assam estates, however, remains at 

 under 300 lb. per acre, a figure which promises to 

 be doubled in the case of Ceylon. The average for 

 the Bengal group of estates is higher, 309 lb. per acre. 

 This is mainly due to Jalpaiguri, the Darjiling Terai, 

 showing the exceptional figure of 399 lb. per acre, 

 while the Darjiling estates are down for 302. The 

 number of estates given for Bengal are 314 estates, 

 with 36,096 acres untler mature plants, 12,032 under 

 immature, total area under tea 48,128 acres, and 

 46,107-J not yet planted. The yield of tea in 1882 

 was 11,172,404, or, as we have shown, 309 lb. per 

 acre, a large increase on the previous year when 

 only 261 lb. average per acre was shown. The figures 

 varied thus :— 



Darjiling ... ... 302 



Jalpaiguri ... ... 399 



Dacca ... ... 110 



Chittagong ... ... 323 



,, Hill Tracts ... 279 



Hazaribagh ... ... 110 



Lohardugga ... ... 170 



Mymensing ... ... 112 



Darjiling gave 8,0S0,293 lb. and 



lb. per aero 



Jalpaiguri (the 

 of the total of 



Terrai and Dooars ?) 1,S65,8U1, out 

 11,172,404. As Darjiling and Jalpaiguri are the 

 chief competitors Ceylon high, country and low will have 

 to contend with, we quote the details for both : — Darjil- 

 ing 165 estates ; under mature plants 26,716 acres ; im- 

 mature 5,854 ; total under tea 32,570; land in reserve 

 12,282; yield of tea 8,080,293 lb. average per acre 302 lb. 

 Jalpaiguri 60 estates ; under mature plants 4,670 

 acres ; immature 3,598 ; total under tea 8,268 ; yield 

 of tea 1,865,801 lb. ; average per acre lb., 399 the 

 highest in all India, the only figures exceeding 300 

 per acre being : — 



[ Darrang ... 361 



In Assam i Nowgong ... 367 



(Sibsagar ... 322 



^-HKS? ::: S3 



Travancore ... 371 



In the North-West Provinces of India, on the sides 

 of the Himalayas and in from 30° to 34° north lat- 

 itude, there are the three districts of Kumaun, Gar- 

 hwal and Dehra Dun, with 86 estates ; 5,672* acres 

 under mature plants ; 2, 266§ immature ; total area 

 under tea 7,939; reserve 2,417 acres; yield of tea 

 1,271,320 lb. ; average per acre 224 l-7th. Tea is a cosmo- 

 politan plant butthe cold of these Himalayan stations 

 in winter will always limit the yield of " flush." We 

 shall not soon forget the cold of a frosty evening, 

 on a tea estate in the Dun (the down place, as com- 

 pared with the Himalayan masses on which Mupsoorie 

 and Landour are seen perched at 7,000 to 8,000 feet 

 elevation, the Dun being 2,000). 



The Punjab includes only one district, Kangra, 

 famed for its delicate teas. There is one estate at 

 Simla, but is nut in bearing. We have already shown 

 the outrageousness of the figures 1,890 for estates. 

 We believe 100 is too large a figure for what are 

 known as estates. r l he acreage under mature plants 

 is given at 5,386 ; immature 2 257 ; total under tea 

 7,643 ; reserve 2,432 ; yield of tea 1,218,519 lb.; average 

 per acre 226 lb. We now come to Madras, in which 

 Presidency the cultivation of tea at a high elevation, 

 on the Nilgiris, although only in 11° north, has not 

 been the tuccess which was anticipated. The excep- 

 tional case of Travancore, with 371 lb. to the acre, 

 which laises the average to 225 lb., shows what may 

 be expected, when the plant is cultivated on the 

 hills of this native state aud in the Wynaad. The 

 figures for estates in the Madras Presidency are 96, 

 eight of the plantations being devoted to seed. The 



