34 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



CHAPTER VI. 



WATER AND SANITATION. 



THESE may be discussed together and shortly. 



Of course adjacent water carriage is a great advantage for 

 a garden, and it should be obtained, if possible, in selecting 

 a site. The expense of land carriage, where there is no rail, 

 is great, and Tea cultivation requires all advantages to make 

 it pay well. 



But it is water for a garden that particularly concerns us 

 now. It is not easy to find land that can be irrigated (this 

 is discussed elsewhere), but no labour or expense in getting 

 such land would be thrown away. Irrigation, combined with 

 high cultivation in other respects, will give a yield per acre 

 undreamt of. 



In no case should a plantation be made except where a 

 running stream is handy. Water is a necessity for seedlings, 

 and a plentiful adjacent supply of it is a great desideratum 

 for the comfort and health of every soul on the garden. We 

 all know how dependent the natives are on water, and it is 

 evident facilities in this respect will conduce much (whether 

 the labour be local or imported) both to get and keep 

 coolies. Norton's tube wells, a cheap and most efficient mode 

 of procuring water, will, I doubt not, be eventually much 

 used on Tea plantations. 



It has been observed that, as a rule, a good Tea climate is 

 not a healthy one. There is no getting over the fact, and we 

 can only make the best of it. The house, the factories, and 

 all the buildings should be placed as high as possible, and 

 not very close to each other, both for the sake of health and 



