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the other hand I hardly think that the shade itself will be a sufficient 

 cause to warrant the planting of the above trees in Dibrugarh, 

 Sibsagar, or North Lakhimpur, It might be noticed, in passing, that 

 Mr. Bamber has expressed himself recently in favour of slight shade 

 for tea in Ceylon. 



2. The continual dropping of leaves, flowers, &c., from the 

 trees are a distinct manurial gain to the soil round about, as 

 the material of which they are formed is obtained from a different 

 layer of soil from that in which the tea bush feeds. Mr. Bamber 

 has laid stress on their utility in this respect in connection with the 

 Grevillea tree (Report on Ceylon Tea Soils 1900). He writes 



"One of the means by which lime has been preserved in Ceylon soils has been the 

 general growth of grevilleas (Grevillea robusta) as shade or for wind belts. As a rule 

 the roots of the grevillea descend into the soil to considerable depths, * * * bringing 

 up stores of plant food, including a large proportion of lime, which the tea plant could 

 not have reached, This plant food after being utilised in building up the grevillea, is 

 largely returned to the soil on the fall of the leaf." 



On the other hand, the quantity of leaf falling from one tree 

 could hardly be greater than fifteen pounds, and with these planted 

 at 40 feet apart, the total quantity of leaf per acre would be 180 

 pounds or thereabouts. It is difficult to see what great effect 

 this quantity of material could have on the land ; as it amounts to 

 little more than i| cwts. per acre of what is confessedly only a 

 poor material. In some experiments made at Amgoorie, Mr. Buck- 

 ingham found the leaves, spread in the land, produce no visible 

 effect, and this would agree with expectation. I think that the 

 amount of manurial matter added through the leaves in a single 

 season is hardly worth consideration. 



3. The penetration of the soil by the roots makes the soil 

 more porous, and hence in better condition for tea culture. This 

 is no doubt the case, and for this reason alone these trees are 

 highly to be recommended in heavy soils, as they quickly improve 

 the texture considerably. 



4. The nodules on the roots contain bacteria which fix the 

 nitrogen of the air, and thus enrich the soil in this most desirable 

 constituent. Under these circumstances it would have been thought 

 that near the trees, or at any rate near the roots, the soil would 

 be decidedly richer. Mr. Buckingham has been kind enough to 

 supply me with samples of soil taken from these positions, but I 



