TEA. 



93 



invented, and it is yet an undecided point which of them is the best. 

 There are some one hundred and forty engines in the province, all of 

 which have been imported within the last five years. The nominal 

 horse-power of these engines is between 400 and 600. There are, 

 however, drawbacks to the use of machinery — some real, some per- 

 haps imaginary — which prevent its more frequent introduction. It 

 is conceded that machinery makes a saving of from 50 to 60 per cent, 

 in manual labour ; but there is still a considerable prejudice against 

 machine-rolled tea. 



Another objection is certainly weighty, namely, that unless a very 

 large quantity of leaf is brought in at one time, the employment of 

 machinery is no saving at all. There is again an objection urged as 

 to the dearth of qualified native artisans, to superintend the working 

 and repair of machinery. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that a day 

 will soon arrive when all labour-saving machinery will be called into 

 use. 



Perhaps one of the most vital questions to the planters of the future 

 is the fuel supply. At present all the " firing " operations are carried 

 on by means of the charcoal obtained from the forest which is cleared 

 for the tea ground, or which grows on those parts of the several grants 

 which are not under cultivation. It is obvious that the destruction 

 of timber must be enormous, and at no distant period it will have to 

 be decided how to manufacture tea with cheaper fuel than charcoal. 

 The invention of such a method would be a great boon. 



Tea cultivation is carried on in Kangra, Gurhwal, and Kamaun ; 

 and in Assam, Cachar, Sylhet, Chittagong, Darjeeling, and Chota 

 Nagpore. In Dehra Dun there are 11 tea gardens, in Kangra 21, in 

 Kamaun 88 ; and there are no less than 47 tea companies. In Dar- 

 jeeling there were 62 gardens in 1871-72, covering 12,305 acres ; and 

 the out-turn of tea was 2,665,821 lbs. With a fair chance, Darjeeling 

 tea could drive Chinese tea out of the markets of high Asia. Its 

 growth in Sikkim employs 43 Europeans and 9493 natives. In 

 Assam 31,303 acres were under cultivation, yielding 6,257,643 lbs. 

 of tea; in Cachar 23,081 acres, with an out-turn in 1872 of 5,406,400 lbs. 

 In Sylhet 21,408 acres, giving 4,641,659 lbs. 



In 1850 there was one tea estate — that of the Assam Company — 

 with 1876 acres under cultivation, yielding 216,000 lbs. In 1870 

 there were 295 proprietors of tea estates, with 31,303 acres under 

 cultivation, yielding 6,251,143 lbs. of tea. In 1872-73 the area of 

 land held by tea planters covered 804,582 acres ; of which about 

 75,000 were under cultivation, yielding 14,670,171 lbs. of tea, the 

 average yield per acre being 208 lbs., which is amply remunerative. 

 In Kangra, the Punjab tea district, there are 28 plantations, including 

 7732 acres, of which 3292 are planted. The average yield per acre 

 is 130 lbs., and the crop of 1872 gave 428,655 lbs. of tea. In the 

 Dehra Dun there are 7801 acres under tea cultivation, yielding 

 411,548 lbs., and in Kamaun 1395, yielding 285,700 lbs. In Dehra 

 Dun green tea is almost exclusively manufactured for the Kabuli mer- 

 chants, who supply Central Asia, where only the green leaf is in 

 demand. The trade is increasing, and the Central Asian demand has 

 been a great advantage, as the planters now get at their very doors 



