No. 216.] 277 



Plant, and that the subdued climate of the temperate zone is conge- 

 nial to its nature and its native home. 



♦ Soil and Location. 



Having shovs^n that the Tea Plant flourishes in its greatest strength 

 between the 20th and 40th° of Lat., and contrary to popular opin- 

 ion in this country, is proof against the severe frosts, snow storms, 

 and all the stem severities of winter, we proceed to consider the 

 soil and location best adapted to the production of Tea. 



Writers, who have visited the various Tea Gardens in China, 

 agree in the fact that a hilly, if not a mountainous country is to be 

 chosen for Tea Plantations, rather than low, flat, alluvial, wet bot- 

 tom lands, however rich and productive they may be in other kinds 

 of produce. 



The plantations in China are generally located in the lower and 

 more fertile sides of hills with a southern aspect, extending from 5 

 to 600 feet above the plain down in the valley, avoiding springy 

 and wet soils, and of course a clayey sub-soil. All that is required 

 in this respect is that the soil should be sufficiently retentive of 

 moisture to nourish the plant. A free generous soil, too high upon 

 the slope to allow the plants to be injured by springs of water from 

 the sides of the hills, and too low to expose them to the violence of 

 storms.* The easterly, are the only winds injurious to the plant, 

 and it is of no avail attempting to cultivate on an easterly expo- 

 sure. 



Mr. Gordon associated with the Assam Tea Company in India, 

 visited the Tea Hills at Toa-be in 1834, and affirms, that the soil of, 

 those gardens was little more than sand and yet required no manure. 

 Mr. Fountain, on the contrary, who visited the Tea Gardens in 

 China, affirms, that the plant requires a rich and well cultivated soil. 



Being myself a practical amateur horticultruist, I think there 

 cannot be any difficulty in deciding between th^^two. I have always 

 found that plants of every description require something to live uponj 

 and as a general rule, the better they are fed the more luxuriantly 

 they grow. But when we consider what a heavy and continued 

 draft is made upon the Tea Plant by constantly plucking, not only 

 its leaves, but its early budsj I think there can be no doubt but that 



• Fountain. Gordon's Journey to the Tea Hills at Toa-be. Chinese Repository, 

 Vol. 4, 1835-6. 



