98 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



flush both for a longer period and oftener. Speaking 

 generally also, in this case, of the five best localities, viz,, 

 Assam, Cachar, Chittagong, the Terai below Darjeeling, 

 and the Western Dooars (for even in these districts many 

 advantages exist in one garden which do not in another), 

 the following is an approximation to the flushing periods : 



Upper Assam. February 25th to November i5th. 



Lower Assam. February 2Oth to November 2Oth. 



Cachar. February 2oth to November 2oth. 



Chittagong. March loth to December 2oth. 



Terai below Darjeeling and Western Dooars. March ist 

 to November 2oth. 



The opening period is a little late in Upper Assam on 

 account of the cold, and closes a little earlier for the same 

 reason. 



Lower Assam and Cachar are much alike. 



The opening in Chittagong is later than in the two just 

 mentioned from want of early rains, but the season con- 

 tinues longer on account of the low latitude and consequent 

 deferred cold weather. 



Roughly, then, rather more than nine months may be 

 assumed as the flushing period for these districts. The 

 next point is how often do gardens in these localities flush 

 in that time. 



Not very many planters can say, certainly, how often 

 their gardens have flushed in a season, because they are 

 picked so irregularly, and no account of the different flushes 

 kept. Enquiring on this point, when I was in Cachar some 

 thirteen years ago, 9 to 24 were the minimum and maximum 

 numbers given me at different gardens, showing how little 

 was really known about it. 



Such knowledge as I have on the subject is mostly 

 derived from carefully kept records of my own garden in 

 the Chittagong district. The plantation is all worked in 



