64, 



which flow from the mountains at all seasons of the 

 year, and which are most useful in dry seasons like 

 the last, where newly-planted plants are apt to 

 suffer from drought. The original soil of this 

 Plantation has been a yellow clay ; but near the 

 surface it is now rich in vegetable matter. The 

 land appears to have been lying waste for several 

 generations, or only used for grazing purposes, and 

 consequently has been enriched annually by decay- 

 ing vegetation which it produced, and by the ex- 

 crements of animals. These annual deposits have 

 gradually enriched the soil, and at the present time 

 it has assumed a darker hue near the surface. Here 

 and there, on the side of some of the ridges, I 

 observed the red clay appearing on the surface ; 

 but generally it is such as I have described. On 

 the wbole, I consider it admirably adapted for Tea 

 cultivation." 



About twenty acres were planted in 1852, three 

 hundred in 1853, and nearly as many in 1854, thus 

 completing in three years a fine plantation. 



In the mean time Mr. Fortune had returned from 

 his second mission to China. He was not so fortunate 

 this time as on the occasion of his first visit. In 

 consequence of the disturbed state of the country 

 it was not possible for him to proceed far into the 

 interior, and he was therefore unable to obtain the 

 information regarding the several processes of manu- 

 facture and cultivation, system of manuring, and 



