50 



by Mr, John Hughes, who visited that island for the tea planters 

 some years ago, that tea of highest value usually contained the 

 largest quantity of Phosphoric Acid, The following table (taken 

 from his figures in the " Tropical Agriculturist, " 1900) shows this. 

 Taking Ceylon Broken Orange Pekoes he found 



If Phosphoric Acid is greater in the tea, it stands to reason it 

 must be present in the soil, other things being equal, in greater 

 quantity in an available form. Mr. Bamber (loc. ctt.) rather doubts 

 the connection between quality and this soil constituent, and gives 

 a very interesting diagram showing how these ingredients vary in 

 soils producing varying quality teas. But I hardly think that too 

 much stress should be laid on these figures, and he himself indicates 

 an opinion that a determination of the amount of actually available 

 Phosphoric Acid might give a different result. I have determined 

 this available Phosphoric Acid for a number of typical Assam soils, 

 and the following are the results : 



These figures bear out in a remarkable manner those previous- 

 ly given, and render the relation of Phosphoric Acid in the soil 

 to quality of tea practically a certain one. 



EXHAUSTION OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. 



The exhaustion of this constituent is further very considerable 

 when tea is long grown on the same land, and the loss of the 

 pristine quality of a garden is probably largely due to this cause, 

 combined always, of course, with the simultaneous loss of Organic 



