89 



the seed was ripe in March two periods at which labour can be to a 

 certain extent spared. One cannot go into the details of such a 

 scheme, but there are few grants where twenty acres could 

 not be given up for this purpose, and on this land ought to be 

 produced about 400 bushels or 300 maunds of seed, giving 200 

 maunds of cake, or sufficient to give a moderate dressing to twenty 

 acres. Such land would be allowed to revert to jungle after gathering 

 the crop, and the herbage grown up in the meantime would be 

 ploughed in before again sowing the next November ; or better 

 still, the same land might only be used once in say three years for 

 mustard growing, being allowed to revert to jungle in the meantime, 

 The oil produced would, by sale on the garden, almost recoup the cost 

 of the crop, and the tea would be manured almost for nothing. At 

 any rate to send out of the province for oil cake, when so much land 

 (not suitable for tea, but quite suitable for mustard) exists even 

 on the tea grants, seems hardly economical. 



But is oil cake of value for tea ? Luckily on this question we 

 have definite figures of recently carried out experiments. The first 

 here reported was carried out at the Harchurah garden of the Borelli 

 Tea Company by Mr. J. C. H. Mitchell. Taking three very even 

 one-acre plots similarly pruned in the previous year 



No. i was left without manure. 



No. 2 was treated with 15^ maunds castor cake and 15^ 

 maunds bone meal per acre, 



No. 3 was treated with 15^ maunds castor cake only, 



The soil was on the Tezpur bank. The following table gives 

 the results for 1899 and 1900 : 



