THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Apkil 1, 1864. 



420 THE EXTENSION OF 



" The plants thrive surprisingly, and when I saw them they were 

 covered with bloom. But the experiment was defeated by the impossi- 

 bility of finding skilled labour to dry and manipulate the leaves. Should 

 it ever be thought expedient to cultivate tea in addition to coffee in 

 Ceylon, the adaptation of the soil and climate has thus been established, 

 and it only remains to introduce artizans from China to conduct the sub- 

 sequent processes." — Volume II, page 252. 



In an official reply, dated 31st October, 1860, the Secretary to the 

 Government states : — " I have perused with much interest the reports 

 by Dr. Cleghorn, the Conservator of Forests, on the growth of the tea 

 plant in the Neilgherries and other parts of the Madras Presidency, 

 which accompany your letter of the 24th August last, No. 90. 



" It is satisfactorily established that tea plants will thrive in several 

 different localities, but no attempt appears yet to have been made to 

 convert the produce into a marketable article of commerce. I agree with 

 you that, as a general rule, it is undesirable for Government to step out 

 of its way to aid the efforts of private adventurers. Considering, how- 

 ever, the great success which has attended this branch of culture in 

 Assam, and in the Himalayas, and which it can scarcely be expected 

 would have been attained, at any rate to the same extent or in the same 

 time, if the initiatory proceedings had not been taken by the Govern- 

 ment, I shall not object, if it should appear that there is little chance of 

 the matter being taken up by private enterprise, to your acting on the 

 recommendation of Dr. Cleghorn, and obtaining the services for a 

 limited period of a few skilled tea manufacturers from the North 

 Western Provinces, which it appears from the information supplied by 

 Dr. Jamieson, might be procured at a very moderate cost. 



" I presume that under the rules now in force, the difficulties which 

 were apparently experienced by Captain Mann in obtaining land in the 

 Neilgherries suitable for his tea plantation, will no longer exist." 



The Conservator of Forests, Madras, in his report, dated the 31st of 

 August, 1860, further remarks : — " Southern India promises well to 

 afford favourable sites for the growth of tea. 



" Numerous experiments have been made, and attended in several 

 instances with marked success, as regards the healthy growth of the 

 plant. In order, however, to complete the experiment, and allow the 

 tea grown in the Presidency to occupy its proper place in the market, 

 it is necessary that the art of manufacturing it should be introduced 

 either direct from China or from Government plantations in the North 

 Western Provinces. Unless something of this kind be done, tea grown 

 in Southern India cannot attain that commercial value which it might 

 probably acquire, were it generously taken up. The tea shrub is re- 

 markable for its hardiness, the cultivation extending over a great 

 breadth of latitude. It prefers a climate w T here the mean temperature 

 is from 67 deg. to 73 deg. This valuable plant may be seen at several 

 places on the Nilgiri and Pului hills, in Coorg, on the hill sanatarium 



