5 



of manure, and useful manure, per annum the whole of the valu- 

 able constituents being obtained from land outside the tea area. 

 Mustard is extensively grown in the province, and though much oil 

 is used in the valley, a large proportion of the seed is exported to 

 Calcutta and the oil reimported, instead of the seed being pressed 

 on the spot, and the cake used as manure. Green manuring is still 

 in its infancy, and so on, 



But beyond this, experiments are necessary every where to 

 determine the best means of keeping up the standard of a garden. 

 Laboratory analyses can show in some measure where the soil is 

 deficient, but in their application to a new crop and especially one 

 in the tropics there always must remain very grave doubts 

 as to the conclusions only removable by actual culture trials 

 in the field. One thing is now practically certain. It is im- 

 possible to apply without very great modification the experience 

 of temperate climates to the condition of the tea industry. Plant 

 nutrition is here very likely governed by somewhat modified rules 

 The conditions of the soil during the rains, that is, the growing 

 season, is entirely different from what it is during the comparatively 

 dry weather, again the growing season, used for the production 

 of the ordinary crop in Europe, or even of the Kharif crop 

 in India. 



In general the principle of culture adopted in most instances 

 in Assam has been nothing more nor less than " juming" the system 

 adopted by the Nagas in the hills above. In brief it consisted of 

 opening out virgin land, putting in the crop, utilising this land until 

 it ceased to* be profitable, and then again abandoning it to jungle 

 and planting out more. The best managed gardens put out ten, 

 twenty, thirty or more acres per annum to make up for the falling 

 off in the old tea, and as a result had a constantly increasing 

 acreage with a constant produce. As an example I may say that 

 in one case which has come before my notice, a garden practically 

 made the same crop in 1899 from 833 acres, as it made in 1893 

 from 525 acres. Making every allowance (say 20 per cent.) 

 for increased fineness of plucking, a system which produces 

 results like this cannot be called either sound agriculture or 

 sound business. It means that the additional area added has .to 

 be worked and this must cause the use of extra labour and hence 



