tion which I had been accustomed to see in good 

 Chinese plantations. This, in my opinion, is caused 

 1st, by the plantation being formed on flat land ; 

 2nd, by the system of irrigation; 3rd, by too early 

 plucking ; and 4th, by hot drying winds, which are 

 not unfrequent in this valley from April to the 

 beginning of Juue.' 



Now the real fact was, that, allowing for the 

 failures resulting from accident and known 

 causes, tea was, at the time, succeeding as well as 

 could be expected. But a report of this nature 

 coming from a gentleman of Mr. Fortune's reputed 

 experience in all things connected with China , had 

 so damaging an effect on its future prospects, as 

 almost to write down the experiment a total failure. 

 As if the elements, too, had conspired to aid him in its 

 condemnation, Heaven withheld that rain so neces- 

 sary to the vitality of the young tea plant, for three 

 successive cold seasons; and drought, the fatal enemy 

 of all V git a tion, most seriously damaged many fine 

 and flourishing tea gardens. In one plantation alone 

 (Kaoligir) no less than a million fine young leed- 

 lings were utterly destroyed, and all the planta- 

 tions cut off from artificial irrigation, suffered more 

 or less severely 



The total failure of the periodical rains moreover 

 brought with it corresponding evils, far more serious 

 than the devastation of the Government tea gardens 

 the total failure of all cereal crops, and what until 



