65 



that obtained from the unmanured section, but in other respects not 

 differing in value. 



This experiment, the only one carried through under exact 

 conditions which is on record, affords decided evidence that such 

 top-dressing does not cause a loss of quality : the impression is, 

 however, so strong among planters that deterioration is produced 

 by this means that during the coming year I hope to test the 

 question further. At present we have no reason to suppose 

 that the leaf is poorer after top-dressing with bheel soil than before. 

 Material so rich as this should, however, never be applied in greater 

 quantity than 100 120 tons to the acre, or an entirely different 

 state of affairs might result. 



ASSAM BLACK SUBSOIL. 



Often in the same districts as these peat bheels, and in many 

 other places besides, there exists a black sub-soil which at first sight 

 seems to possess the character of peat. I have noticed it in the 

 Tezpur and Bishnauth districts, on the bank of the river at Behalli, 

 in the Dehing Valley, and at several places in the Jorhat district, 

 and have been many times asked whether it will be useful for top- 

 dressing. It consists of a very finely divided, greasy, slirny material, 

 containing no vegetable remains, which, when damp, cuts like cheese 

 and which contracts very much on drying. It will write on a white 

 surface like graphite. Wherever this material occurs near the surface 

 the tea is invariably not luxuriant, and I have never seen it pene- 

 trated by the roots of the tea bush. By itself it therefore is certainly 

 not suitable for tea. On the other hand, it is rich in plant food, as 

 the following analyses show : 



