I II E 



288 



T I! i: 



plant.. '2: water of ateorpUon. 4. Dr. Abel thouirht that 



i \icld n tin; 



tin- i I Hop would afford a suita!< 



Tin- > ibt, to a coruidermbl 



lioina warm in the southern and 



I "w is said to li 



. lor days ' |ion the ffreen teas, and the 



men ten-plant is in this country iihii- to bear u j 

 degree of cold tlum tin- black, which, in :n> to 



'iiiincd to tin 1 more southern provinces: but 

 in tlu- Kokicn hills M. dillt-ry has mentioned to Uir 

 writ, .trtiile that lie "ha* walked on now in 



the inid-t ul' the tea-plants. The rulturi' of the tea-plant 

 - simple cnouirh : the plants nre raised 

 from scefls, sown in the places v. lu-i' 1 they are to re- 

 main dropped into holes tour or five 

 i> and three or lour 1 r they 

 ripen ; or in November and December. a< ihey do not 

 <!!, from their oilinexs. The plants rise up in 

 a cluster when the rain comes on, and require little further 

 . xrept that of remount; weeds, till they nre three 

 yean* old, when they yield their first crop '"'hey 

 arc seldom transplanted, but sometimes four to six plants 

 are put close totrether, so as to fonn a tine bush. Alter 

 irrowim: seven or ten years they are cut down, in order that 

 the numerous youm; shoots which then spring out may 

 afford a more abundant supply of leaves. 1 

 tricts the bushes ifrow unrestrained, in othr 

 regularly pruned, to keep them low. The irathen 



is performed with irreat care : Ihcv are usually 

 tirM in March or May according to the 

 i .when the young leaves are acaroel) expanded: the 

 1 about two months Inter, or May and June : and tin- 

 third in Auiriiat, or about six weeks alter 1 : but 

 the li: -:irily differ in different districts, as well as 

 the number of Crept which are obtained, some avoiding 

 the third, for few of injuring the bushes. When the i 



.'In-red they are dried in houses which contain small 

 furnaces, on each of which there is a flat iron pa; 

 upon this, when heutcd. the leaves, partially dried I 

 posure to the sun. me thrown; the leaves rcqiin 

 i|iu-nt shifting ami turninir. When all are properly dried. 

 Ihey are quickly removed either by the hand or with a 

 shov el, and either thrown upon a mat" or in: which 



are kept ready to receive them. They are then removed 

 to a table where they are rolled and cooled, and the pro- 

 cess is repeated : alter which they are silled and sorted 

 into several varieties. The process has been very minutely 

 described a* practised in Assam and .l.'\a by the Chinese 

 lea-makers. \Ve may then fore refer to the accounts pub- 

 lished by Mr. Bruce, as well as to tho-- of the superintendent 

 in Java," translated by Dr. Horstield. 



most difficult part of this question is to determine 

 whether the art-en and black teas are pmduced by one or 

 two distinct species of plants, as the statements of appa- 

 rently equalh well qualified jr not only contra- 

 dictory, but directly the reverse 'her. The diffi- 

 culty is owim: to no competent pel-son havinir visited the 

 tea di- iiina, and also to tin- Chinese in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Canton beini; able to prepare a tea which can 

 I and made up to imitate 



iarije quantities are thus yearly made up. 



m and thoM- in Java alike 



! from 



Then, 



.:iie of the black anil 



teas of conimer ., differ verv i 



from ,,,(1 j^ 



there - .,,. r (o 



the i 

 plum 



different tea*. \Vhetlier 1 ' .me species 



or well-established varieties can on 

 botanists who have nn opportunity pi 



le in tlie tea mirserii , and of the 



Himalayan. 

 ** pects, n 



other, 

 navinif become so extensive ! of com- 



ilrious 



(lim- 

 it in which the 

 'iral experiment* have been made, as in Rio Janeiro 



and the warm part of Drn/.il. nnd latterly in the Inlh 

 ol Java and Hrn/il. in 



Dr. Abel reeoniincni'. II is 



requisite to have no' oil and climai. 



. heap and nbui' :. Mnir 



opinion that ten could Vd in th. 



the first published opinim 

 Itutr. linn 



i.iiiirt. p. i'l!) . where. 



a similarly in latitude, climate, and \ eiretatio; 

 any information i/cd on tho.-e snbjer 



opinion tliat tea could b. tivated in 



the Himalayan mountains. diflerent 



nllow p 



STH]ihical distribution of tb 

 and the natural 



beiiiLT !ly cultivated.' He nvommendcd 



riments beinir made in 11 Hie Hun: 



tending from Almora nearly to the- v 

 elevations from tin- valleys up to 7(XX) feel, and th' 

 that about ."KKH) feet of elevation would afford 

 climate. Dr. Falconer formed similar opinions at the 

 same lime in a report to ov eminent. The correct i- 

 these opinions has been clearly proved by t!i 

 reports on the success of the tea plantations established 

 in the Knmaon and (inrhv of these mountains, 



which were formed when the I 



blished in As-sam. and the seed? and plants sent up which 

 had li .! from China. In I 



by the Ini' ; . 'lent to the Asrricnl' t\ of 



la, we find that ul :nid UK HI 



feet there are some hum! .u; and heulthv 



in.i; jilants and seedlings, but none 

 to yield seed. At Almorali. elevated 5(K; 



. one nf three and the oilier of eleven 

 half acres in extent, with 1500 full-thrown Ire, 



and 700 layers, and upwards of 31.000 seedling- 

 Hheemtal. lower in elevation and nearer to the ] 

 results are equally favourable: 'On the whole 1! 

 incut, in as far as the possibility of (iliint 



in the proviii'-e^ of (nirliwal and Kumaon is in qu, 

 may be safely pronounced to have completely sncce. 

 It is also said, 'Assam has doubt K - 

 over Kumaon as to facility of export, but the lattei 

 vince will probably be found to yield a pi. 

 superior quality. 1 The quality of the tea which can be 

 prepared here can only be ascertained when China tea- 

 preparers have been sent there, a.s they no doubt will be 

 sent, as soon as the plantations ;. tly extended.. 



Tin' value of the- propcrly 



mated in connection with i 



Assam, which is several hundred nn from Ku- 



maon and Gurhwal, and it is probable therefore that the 

 whole of the intervening; part of the Himalayas \\ ill be 

 favourable to this culture: probab. .' the 



mountains of the peninsula, as in the \\'_M ' and 



". ancore, will be found favourable. 



The Assam tea-plant lii>t attracted public attention in 

 IM.'tt. in consequence of replies to the circulars which had 



ntlemen. Captains .lenkir 

 Charlton, in May of that yr.ir. wrote that a kind c! 



ndoubtedh indigenous in Assam. v 

 It has nppeared I 

 the I'M that Mr. David Scott had, in .' 



lly 

 Mnjor Hruco. \\Jiich he said the liuni: 



tion < 



publish 



Hut the plant v . 

 . and no further 



scientific dcpu!ati>i. composed of Dr. \\u'.< 

 (iriffitli and .Mac( 'Inland, wa:. n-nt I'o. 



!ie<l in tl. 



Soc. of India.' and in the ]i 

 in India, publi-i iKC). 



Tea-plantat ! - and Mr. 



Bruce ajipointed tin ii 



lca-ti: ..mil 



\eiy 

 extensive-, both on the hi on the p 



i and 



that th ' hich 



enables them to maintain .-.nre 



