November i, 1884.] THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



345 



TKA CULTURE IN ASSAM: STATISTICS. 

 We recently published an abstract from the En- 

 glishman of the figures given in the Report of the 

 Chief Commissioner of Assam on tea acreage and 

 tea yield in l'-S.'l in the two great valleys into which 

 Assam is divided, the Brahmaputra and the Surma. 

 The report of the Chief Commissioner is founded on 

 those of his Deputies, and there are constant ques- 

 tionings of the correctness of the statistics, especially 

 for yield per acre, which are believed in many cases 

 to be greatly exaggerated. There are estates, no 

 doubt, which yield 400, 50C, or even 600 lb. per acre, 

 but these are few and far between, and for a general 

 average 300 lb. per acre is rather over than under 

 the mark. Mr. Elliott, in noticing the figures for 

 land abandoned or taken up in the year, the result 

 of which appears to be 45,563 acres increase of ai ea, 

 remarks : — 



Under the head of " taken up for tea" is included all 

 land which is reported by the Deputy Commissioners to 

 have been taken up during the year in new tea grants, 

 or in extension of old tea grants ; but all of the new laud 

 taken up is not intended to be, and could not be, put 

 under tea ; much of it may be wanted for fuel, grazing, 

 Hues, &c. : — 



The largest addition is made in the case of Sylhet, 

 the dist'ic r which, lying below the Khasia Hills on 

 which Cherrapunji is situnted, no less than 37,448 

 of increase being shown, but a note states : — 



This total is the actual difference between the total area 

 taken up in tea grants on the 31st December 1882, as 

 shown in the report for 1882, and the total area shown in 

 the present report for 1883. About 30,000 acres of this 

 increase is due to new gardens in the Balisira Hills, but 

 tiie figure is only approximate. 



As will be hereafter seen, the effects of flood* are 

 weaning the Indian planters from their preference 

 for low-lying lands. Of course in 27° north the 

 climate of Jofty hills would be severe, apart from 

 the nature of the soil. Here in Ceylon, within 7° 

 of the equator, our climate is genial up to a high 

 altitude, and the very stiffness of our soil is in favour 

 of hill estates. There are elements of confusion iu 

 Assam which do not exist in Ceylon. For instance, 

 it is -taed by the Commissioner : — 



The area of a Government Errant made to a tea- 

 planter can be accurately recorded in the register, hut 

 the additions which a tea-planter may make to his estate 

 by private purchase or by lease only become known to 

 the district officers if application be made for registra- 

 tion ol the- transfer, or if the added land be included 

 by the tea-planter in his return of the total land in 

 his possession taken up for tea. On the occasion of a 

 rec«nl inspection of the revenue registers in the office 

 of Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, the Chief Commis- 

 sioner found that mauy planters have taken leases >i 

 land from owners of permanent estates, and have not 

 separated their interests, so that their gardens are liable 

 to be sold if the owner of the estate allows the land 

 revenue to fall into arrear. The Deputy Commissioner 

 has been instructed to invite the attention of planters in 

 such cases to the advisability of their registering separate 

 accounts in the Collectorate. 



The most considerable extensions of tea cultivation in 

 the Province during the last two years have taken place in 

 the Sylhet district. Ninetei □ new gardens have been opened 

 in 1883 in the Balisira Hills on land which a Company 

 agrei 1 to take on lease from the Maharaja of Hill Tip- 

 perali ; but it has since been decided that the Maharaja 

 has no rights iu the land and the Company will be 

 required to take a lease from the ( rovernraent. 



Sylhet for 1883, as for 1882, bids the fourth place in 



the Province as a tea-producing district, and the recent 



large extensions in the district promise at no distant date 



to plare its total outturn not far sbort of that of the three 



44 



districts first iu order, viz., Oachar, Sibsagar.and Lafchimpur. 

 The following extract on the subject of land available for 

 tea. cultivation in Gpalpara is taken from the report of the 

 Deputy Commissioner of that district: — 



" There is ample land in the Eastern Duars fit for tea, and 

 1 have lost no opportunity of bringing this matter to the 

 notice of planters and others interested in gardens. With 

 good land, an ample supply of free labor, good water carri- 

 age, good land communication between the Eastern Duars 

 and Dubri or Goalpara (and we have all these), the waste 

 lands in the Eastern Duars must sooner or later be taken up 

 for gardens." 



The unwillingness of the Lakhimpur planters 'to 

 furnish returns is suspicious of diminish' d yield. 

 Of 202 estates in this district, returns had been sent 

 in for only 101 Allowing for inaccuracies, the land 

 held by Assam planters under various tenures (freehold 

 in very few cases) is well on the round million of acres 

 the figures for 1883 being 923.664 against 5S7.409 iu 

 1878. In that year the acreage under tea was shown 

 at 109,577 mature plants and 38.263 immature, or 

 147 840 in all. In 1883 the area under mature plants 

 had risen to 161,707 while that under imm >ture 

 plants had gone down to 27,746, the approx mate 

 total under tea at all stages being thus 189,453 

 acres The reserve is, therefore, no lejs than 734,211 

 acres ! 



Of the acreage under the tea plant, 111.439 are in 

 the Brahmaputra valley and 78 014 iu the Surma 

 valley, the chief increase being in the latter in the 

 case of the Sylhe f district The planters of Lakhimpur 

 had sent not only imperfect but most misleading 

 returns, representing the yield per acre at 385 lh., 

 when really, from the nature of the reason, the 

 returns must have been below those o f 1882 when 

 the average obtained was 184 lb. ! Men who can 

 descend to such dishonesty ought to be reprobated, 

 especially by 'heir own fraternity. The percentages 

 of increased yield shown were : — 



Caehar ... 1-49 



Sylhet ... 10 39 



Oovlpara ... 5'43 



Darrang ... 4'00 



Nowgong ... 13'83 



Sihsagar ., 10-62 



Lakhimpur ... 51 76 



on which it s remarked : — 



The Chief Commissioner has little faith in the statistics 

 of larger outturn submitted from Nowgong and Sibsagar 

 he rejects the increase reported iu Lakhimpur as altogether 

 incredible. 

 It is added : — 



Export often mid. export and. import oftearSeed, asshovm 

 in tin' trade returns. — The export of tea from the province 

 during 1883, as shown in the trade returns is given below : — 



Maunds. lh 



For the Brahmaputra Valley. ..3,37,717 or 27,789,284 

 „ Surma Valley ...1,96,954 or :6.20(i,500 



These figures go to support the totals given by the tea 

 Association. 



The tea-seed was exported and imported as follrws : — 



Imports, Exports. 

 Mds. Mds. 



For the Brahamaputra Valley... 45 6,693 



„ Surma Valley ... 5,227 108 



It would thus appear that, of the 6,693 inaunds of 

 tea seed exported from 'he Brahmaputra valley, no less 

 than 5.227 maunds went to Sylhet and other districts 

 in the Surma. Valley, leaving a balance of 1,466 

 maunds for Ceylon and other remote places. What 

 follows is worth noting: — 



The Deputy Commissioner ol Caehar writes as follows on 

 the subject of tea-seed : — 



" The supply of tea-seed from Manipur is small and 

 variable. The extensions in Sylhet and Oachar have caused 

 ar mi on good seed. It no longer pays to plant China 

 tea ; what is wanted are high class, free-yiolding plants — 



