33 



and will bear sweating well, but is not well suited for cigar wrappers 

 at present, " (1894 H.H.M.) "because light-coloured, thin-textured 

 wrappers are in demand at this time. Upon light sandy soils the 

 quality is very fine, the texture of the leaf is thin, and the colour 

 is light" (M. Whitney, U. S. A., Yearbook of the Department of 

 Agriculture, 1894). This is just one example of the close connec- 

 tion between the quality of leaf and the physical properties of the 

 soil, 



One will be entitled, I think, therefore, to anticipate that a 

 connection will ultimately be made out between physical character 

 of soil and kind of tea. At present we know little or nothing 

 Perhaps other things being equal, the deep sands fairly dry or at 

 any rate never becoming waterlogged present the best condition 

 for preparing a pungent tea ; and perhaps also the thickest liquors 

 are obtained on much heavier soils which indeed are too heavy to 

 produce the most luxuriant bushes, but such statements are only 

 the result of actual observations on existing gardens, and it will 

 require very careful and exact experiments to make any progress 

 with the study of these questions. I hope however to be able to 

 broach these questions when time allows, as I believe they are as 

 intimately connected with the quality of the tea as are the chemical 

 needs of the soil with which I now proceed to deal. 



