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of soil. Our methods at the best are but clumsy, and plants, 

 whether they be tea bushes or anything else, are far more delicate in 

 analysis than the best of our laboratory methods. And in the 

 case of a deep-rocted crop like tea questions of the possibility of the 

 extension of roots counterbalancing the poverty of the soil near at 

 hand, enter to a much larger extent than among ordinary annual 

 crops, But one can say even with the crop under consideration : 



(1) that an unusually small proportion of any one constituent 



necessary for plant growth indicates that a deficiency 

 in that ingredient will first make itself felt ; 



(2) that an unusually large amount of any one ingredient 



indicates that this will be the last one which will need 

 to be applied as manure, 



But here in considering Assam soils one is met at the outset 

 by a difficulty, judged by all standards of English agriculture. 

 Many of the best tea-soils, as shown by the percentage figures, seem 

 much poorer than would be expected of virgin and good tea 

 yielding land, and poorer even than other soil which is really 

 much inferior for tea production. Compare for instance the following 

 analyses, the first being that of an eminently good soil producing per 

 acre 7 to 8 maunds per annum of tea worth ten pence to one shilling 

 per pound in London, and the second being that of land producing 

 much less tea at a lower price in the same market. The third 

 column shows the apparent percentage of the important con- 

 stituents of sample No. I (good soil) calculated on to the basis of 

 sample No. 2 (poor soil). 



