CHAPTER II. 



THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TEA SOILS. 



Before proceeding to consider the chemical needs of the Assam 

 Tea soils, the equally important matter of their physical con- 

 dition their stiffness, the fineness of their particles, their relation to 

 water, to heat, &c. must be dealt with. This is a matter which has in 

 the past largely been neglected. Even to this day there are practical 

 and experienced men holding diametrically opposite views as to the 

 character of the soil best suited to tea, and the means of keeping that 

 soil in the best condition. It should however be at once recognised 

 that a soil may be rich in all the elements of plant food, and yet be 

 quite infertile. " If ** 'roots are to develop in a healthy and vigorous 

 manner, there must be a suitable soil climate, The conditions as to 

 air, moisture, and temperature within the soil are quite as essential 

 for vigorous plant growth as are the corresponding conditions in the 

 atmosphere above." * It is, in fact, becoming more and more abund- 

 antly clear that one cannot judge entirely the value of a soil from a 

 chemical analysis its physical properties will possibly do more to 

 determine, in the first instance at any rate, its fertility than its 

 chemical composition. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



What then are the physical conditions of soil which have by ac- 

 tual experience been shown to be of most value for tea ? The early 

 writers were inclined to state that almost any type would be satis- 

 factory, and in the tea boom in the sixties an enormous area 

 of quite unsuitable land was put out, But commencing from 

 Colonel Money in 1870, a very correct idea seems to have been 

 given of what was required, Money wrote, " a light sandy loam 

 is perhaps as good a soil as any out of the Himalayas. It 

 ought to be deep, * * * if deep enough for the descent of the 

 taproot, say 3 feet, it matters not much what the snbsoil is, other- 

 wise a yellowish red subsoil is an advantage. This subsoil is 

 generally a mixture of clay and sand, Where the loam is of a 

 greasy nature (very different to clay), with a mixture of sand in it, 

 it is superior to the above, for it has more body." Colonel Money 

 was, however, entirely mistaken in imagining that the subsoil below 



* Warington. 



