Section V.— MISCELLANEOUS PLANT 

 PRODUCTS 



Tea. — Tea was first introduced into Europe by the Dutch 

 Bast India Company. At first it was mostly of Chinese 

 production, but of recent years India has taken the major 

 part of the trade. Tea thrives best in the hilly tracts, and 

 is not usually grown in any low-lying districts, or at any 

 pronounced altitude. It is raised from seed, and the bushes 

 in the tea plantation are kept about four or five feet apart, 

 so as to permit ample room for the workers to get in between 

 for hoeing operations. The aim of the planter is to obtain 

 a constant succession of leaf -bearing shoots, but the plant 

 requires a period of rest. At the time of the " flush," or 

 period of most active vegetation, the youngest leaves of each 

 shoot are alone used in the manufacture. The bushes 

 must on no account be allowed to produce flowers or fruit. 

 The rainfall in tea-growing districts is invariably high, about 

 eighty inches per annum representing a fairly satisfactory 

 figure ; long droughts are very disadvantageous. The soil 

 must be well drained, but situations on the sides of hills 

 are not considered very satisfactory. Ivight, sandy, loose, 

 deep loams are the best type of soil, clays and shallow soils 

 being quite unsuited. Nitrogenous manures are extremely 

 valuable, and moderate amounts of vegetable manure 

 desirable, but excessive vegetable matter leads to inferior 

 grades. In Japan fish manure is used. I^ime is generally 

 considered to be very harmful except in small amounts, 

 though in Assam lime is regarded more favourably. In 

 Dehra Dun gypsum is used. There seems some reason to 

 believe that tea needs an abnormal value of the ratio MgO : 

 CaO in the soil, and requires the magnesia to be in marked 



