22 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



produced from the Hybrid which is so general in plain 

 gardens.* 



KUMAON. 



It was in this district (a charming climate to live in, 

 with magnificent scenery to gaze at) I first planted Tea in 

 India, and I much wish for my own sake, and that of others, 

 I had not done so. I knew nothing of Tea at the time, and 

 I thought a district selected by Government for inaugurating 

 the cultivation must necessarily be a good one. No hill 

 climate can be a good one for Tea ; but the inner part of 

 Kumaon, very cold, owing to its elevation, high latitude, 

 and distance from the plains, is a peculiarly bad one. Yet 

 there it was Government made nurseries, distributed seed 

 gratis, recommended the site for Tea (see the " Records" 

 alluded to), and led many on to their ruin by doing so. The 

 intention of the Government was good, but the officers in 

 charge of the enterprise were much to blame, perhaps not 

 for making the mistake at first (no one at the first knew what 

 climate was suitable), but for perpetuating the mistake, 

 when later very little enquiry would have revealed the 

 truth. I believe it was guessed at by Government officials 

 long ago, but it was easier to sing the old tune ; and a very 

 expensive song it has proved to many.t 



I need scarcely, after this, add that I do not approve 

 of Kumaon for Tea. An exhilarating and bracing climate 

 for man is not suited to the Tea plant. The district has 



* When this was written the demand for Green Teas in Europe was 

 greater than it is now. Still Kumaon has found a local market for Green 

 Tea over the border, that is, among the Asiatic tribes, and Darjeeling might 

 do the same. 



f Is it possible that the continued deception (it was nothing less) was 

 owing to the fact that Government had gardens to sell there ? They were 

 advertised for sale a long time at absurd prices. 



