CHAPTER VI 



MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE 



WE will now turn our attention to the cultivation 

 and manufacture of tea as practised by the European 

 planters of Ceylon and India. 



In opening out a new tea garden the first step is the 

 establishment of a nursery for raising the young plants 

 which are to fill the garden. A piece of jungle near the 

 new plantation is cleared ; then the soil carefully hoed, 

 and prepared for the seed. The land is now divided 

 into beds between which are shallow trenches, and when 

 the soil is sufficiently prepared, the seed, which has been 

 allowed to sprout in seed beds, is planted out and the 

 ground covered with thatching to prevent scorching 

 by the sun. The nursery is carefully fenced in to pre- 

 vent damage by cattle and wild animals. The seed is 

 obtained from plants grown in a special " seed garden " 

 where the bushes are not pruned in ordinary cultivation, 

 but allowed to attain their full growth. 



Meanwhile the clearing of the future garden has been 

 proceeding, and, when complete, the soil is carefully 

 hoed and then marked out with stakes, about four feet 

 apart, indicating the lines or rows which are to receive 

 the young tea-plants from the nursery. The roads and 

 drains of the plantation are dug by the coolies, and then 

 transplanting commences. The young plants are taken 

 from the nurseries when about twelve inches high, and 

 planted in the holes prepared for them, care being taken 

 to keep the wall of the earth round the roots of the 

 seedling intact. 



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