TEA. 



113 



not kept up, in two or three years the whole of the surface soil will 

 be washed away, leaving nothing but the inorganic matters contained 

 in the subsoil, from which the plants can obtain a subsistence. Many 

 planters who are most careful in the selection of their soil, are equally 

 careless with regard to its preservation. They forget that it is the 

 capital from which all their profits are to be derived, and that if lost 

 it can never be replaced. Manuring will be but of little avail, as the 

 manure will be washed away precisely in the same manner as the soil 

 has been. Heavy falls of rain may occur at any time, and by the 

 want of a little forethought in laying out his estate, the planter may 

 be subjected to heavy loss. These drains should be laid out horizon- 

 tally, or rather at a slight gradient, say 1 in 50 or 1 in 60, at 

 regular intervals from top to bottom of the estate. The distance 

 between them must be regulated by the lay of the land, and the 

 average amount of the annual rainfall ; vertical escape channels may 

 be constructed wherever the ground admits of its being done. The 

 object in the easy gradient of the horizontal channels is that the flow 

 of water in these drains may be very gentle, and that any soil which 

 may wash from above will settle in the drain, and can afterwards be 

 replaced round the roots of the plants hy manual labour. These 

 drains should be traced by the quadrant, and pegged out, as is usually 

 done in the case of roads. Water channels are required for the 

 building sites and nurseries. The gradient of these may' be a 

 trifle sharper, say 1 in 30 to 1 in 40. They need not, except 

 where water-power is required, exceed 18 inches in width, and 

 the same in depth. The greater portion of these works should be 

 done before the planting season commences ; by this means all hands 

 will be available for the preparation of the soil when the proper 

 season arrives ; all buildings required for the first year must also 

 be completed before the end of the hot weather, let them be of what- 

 ever description they may. 



Straits Settlements. — Experiments were made in 1871 by the pro- 

 prietors of the Alma estate to introduce the tea plant. They have 

 now some twenty-five acres in bearing, and the manager, who has 

 had large experience in Assam and other tea-producing countries, 

 considers that the trees have grown as well as could be desired, whilst 

 the strength and flavour of the leaf are excellent ; but he adds that 

 its success as a profitable enterprise depends greatly on an abundant 

 supply of Indian labour. 



Java. — In 1826 some tea seeds sent fromDecima, in Japan, by Dr. 

 Von Seiboldt, were planted in the Botanic Gardens of Buitenzong. The 

 plants having succeeded, the idea was entertained of commencing tea 

 culture upon a large scale. The first plantation, of about 800 trees, 

 was formed in 1827, and some specimens of tea from the first trees 

 grown in the island were shown at an industrial exhibition held in 

 1828. A second plantation was formed at Caroet, in the regency of 

 Preanger, the first being in the regency of Buitenzong. So successful 

 was the progress made, that in 1833 the number of trees in the 

 regency of Krawang was returned at more than 500,000. In Java, 

 the best tea, with coffee, is grown at a height of 3000 to 4000 feet 

 above the level of the sea. It is on the slopes of the mountains in 



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