55 



These results are wholly irregular, but they do not seem to 

 indicate nearly the demand on the Lime which would have been 

 expected. In fact, small as the percentage usually is in Assam 

 soil, I think there is hardly any case where Lime manuring is 

 necessary because the soil is exhausted of this constituent. It may 

 be applied for other reasons, as for instance, to improve the physical 

 condition of the land (see page 16), or it may be put on to eradicate 

 blight, or it may even be put on to correct the acidity of soils 

 (though acidity is unknown in Assam, except in peat bheels), but 

 otherwise the necessary changes will take place in the soil, and the 

 plant be sufficiently fed without any intentional addition of Lime 

 as a manure. Only about 4 Ibs, per acre per annum 13 needed by the 

 plant, and this is always abundantly present. 



EFFECT OF LIME ON QUALITY. 



At one time Lime was supposed to have a beneficial effect on 

 quality. Mr. Bamber however showed that the gardens and districts 

 giving the best tea had by no means necessarily the most Lime in 

 their soil, and it has recently been pointed out that the teas which 

 sell at the highest prices generally contain the least Lime. The small 

 quantity in the soil of the best gardens is shown in the following 

 table, all being places yielding very high class tea. 



When it is considered that English soils rarely contain less 

 than O'2 per cent- of Lime, and that most of the Ceylon tea soils 

 contain more than this, the independence of quality of the amount 

 of Lime may, I think, be considered proved. 



EFFECT OF OXIDE OF IRON. 



Such are the more important ingredients of the tea plant 

 obtained from the soil. There remain however several others to 

 which great powers and influence on the quality of the tea have 

 been attributed. Oxide of Iron is perhaps the most important of 

 these. The red colour, due to iron, of the best tea soils is evident 

 to everyone. Again and again it is noticed. Jorhat soil is a red sand, 



