42 TEA 



tea on the mountainous regions between Cacliar and 

 Assam, along the North-West Frontier, and on the 

 Neilgherries. 



The Committee decided that there was sufficient 

 evidence to justify a beUef that tea-production could 

 be made a commercial success in India, and forthwith 

 their secretary was sent to China to obtain a supply 

 of seeds and plants, and also to procure the services of 

 some Chinese labourers skilled in the cultivation and 

 manufacture of tea. 



But before the seeds and labourers reached Calcutta, 

 further evidence concerning the Assam discovery was 

 placed before the Committee, whereby they were per- 

 suaded to believe that not only was the " China " tea- 

 plant growing wild in the forests of Assam, but that 

 the wild tea-plants flourishing there were indigenous 

 to the soil they occupied. Thus it seemed that India 

 was in the very curious position of being about to try 

 to " naturahze " from imported seed a native Indian 

 plant. 



At this juncture the Government of India sent to 

 Assam a Special Commission of two botanists and a 

 geologist, personally to study on the spot the nature 

 of the Assam tea-plant and the conditions under which 

 it was growing. As a result of their investigations, 

 these specialists were able to make a more-than-ever 

 startling announcement. The tea-plant was not only 

 growing wild in the country of the Singphoos, as had 

 hitherto been made known, but it had now been found 

 scattered at intervals over the whole of Upper 

 Assam. Moreover, to their surprise, these specialists 

 had discovered that the situation of the plants was 

 usually on the plains. Further, they had discovered 



