96 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



also, in this case, of the five best localities, viz. Assam, 

 Cachar, Chittagong, the Terai below Darjeeling, and the West- 

 ern Dooars (for even in these districts many advantages exist 

 on one garden which do not in another), the following is an 

 approximation to the flushing periods : 



Upper Assam. February 25th to November i5th. 



Loiver 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 1st 

 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 continues 

 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 Chitta- 

 gong district. The plantation is all worked in sections, in the 

 way described previously, and the dates given in the table 



