1 66 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



of from five to six maunds per acre this season. Some of these 

 gardens have really no apparent advantage over their less fortunate 

 neighbours, beyond that of a somewhat better system of cultivation 

 and pruning ; and these improvements even are to such a small 

 degree ahead of the general practice, that I feel justified in saying 

 I cannot place a limit on what the increased yield should be under 

 a more rational system of cultivation, and the application of manures 

 on a liberal scale, leaving out of consideration altogether what 

 might reasonably be expected from a good system of drainage in 

 addition.' 



"Mr. James Stuart, Manager of the Bengal Tea Company's 

 gardens in Cachar, has also given two maunds an acre as the general 

 average of Cachar gardens for the past season, including young 

 gardens of two, three, and four years old. 



" We do not think it necessary to quote in detail the opinions of 

 all the gentlemen examined by us on the subject of average produce 

 per acre. A garden that can give four maunds per acre is un- 

 doubtedly a good one ; and we have no doubt there are such, or even 

 better; but we do not think they are so common as to warrant our 

 taking more than three maunds as a safe average." 



Mr. A. C. Campbell, Extra Assistant Commissioner at 

 Burpettah, in his " Notes on Tea Cultivation in Assam," pub- 

 lished in the Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society of India, part 3, vol. xii. page 309, says : " Good 

 Tea land can be made to yield as high as seven maunds per 

 poora." I forget exactly how much a poora is, but I believe 

 it is nearly an acre. 



In the Report to Government by the Commissioners, quoted 

 above, at page 9, Mr. T. Burland, after estimating the cost of 

 cultivation per acre per mensem at Rs. 9-10-2, adds : 

 ' With the above expenditure per acre it is probable that much 

 more than five maunds of Tea will be obtained from an acre 

 of fair plant.' 1 



All these estimates, however, are based on the cultivation 



1 See my estimate for cultivation at page 82. I there estimate Rs. 100 per 

 acre per annum from the sixth year, so that Mr. Burland six years ago had come 

 to the same opinion about high cultivation that I hold. 



