of little else than sand, to a highly fertile condition. In 

 such a case it is a question for bheel soil or cattle manure, 

 and practically nothing else will answer. Further, it will not make 

 tea luxuriant on a stiff clay. Here the condition of the soil is at 

 fault, and must be remedied prior to any manuring by means of 

 the methods given in Chapter II. But with exceptions like this, oil 

 cake bids fair to be the most important of manures, outside actual 

 garden sources, in the future. 



ARTIFICIAL AND CHEMICAL MANURES. 



Apart from the fertilisers I have so far dealt with, we are limited 

 to imported chemical manures. These have, of course, the immense 

 advantage that they are far more concentrated than the locally 

 produced materials can ever hope to be, are susceptible of much 

 more exact application, and can be imported to fill any particular 

 defect in the soil without adding a large amount of unnecessary 

 material. Nevertheless, I cannot consider that at present they can 

 have, except for phosphates, any but a very subsidiary position in 

 Assam an almost virgin land teeming with waste products not pro- 

 duced from tea land, but well capable of replacing much of the loss 

 caused by tea culture. We will, however, consider briefly some of 

 those most likely to be useful. 



NITROGENOUS FERTILISERS. 



And first for Nitrogenous fertilisers. The artificial manures, 

 specially supplying Nitrogen, are almost limited to the Nitrates of 

 Soda and Potash, and to Sulphate of Ammonia. The first is imported 

 from South America, the second is a local Indian product, while the 

 third is a necessary bye-product in a well conducted gas works. 

 They all three have a fundamental objection, that in a rainy climate 

 they are quickly washed out of the soil. Last year Nitrate of Soda 

 was used on several of the Assam Company's gardens, and the 

 general result showed that six weeks after application, the effect of 

 the manure began to disappear, and the treated plots were soon 

 reduced almost, if not entirely, to the level of the untreated plots. 

 A contradictory result was obtained by Mr. F. H. Edwards at 

 Heeleaka, where the improvement was manifested right through the 

 season, and the bushes appeared better at the end. In this case> 

 however, I fancy that for some reason or other, not the exhaustion 

 of the soil, the roots had ceased developing, and the Nitrate of 



