108 



TEA. 



opan the ca psule, althougli groen, and if their color is a nut-brown, they are 

 sure to be so. If they are not ripe, they are of a reddish-brown above, mixed 

 with white. If the seeds are allowed to remain a short time on the bushes, after 

 they are ripe, the capsules burst, and they fall out ; it is necessary, therefore, to 

 remove them before this takes place. 



On the method of sowing seeds, and season, and on the treatment of the young tea 

 plants after they have germinated. — The ground having been first well trenched ■ 

 and manured, that is, from sixty to seventy maiinds of manure given to the acre, 

 the seeds are, when ripe, to be removed from the capsules, and immediatL-ly sown 

 to the depth of one inch, and very close, in drills 8 to 1 0 inches apart from each 

 other. The sooner that they are sown after being removed from the capsules the 

 better, as their germinating properties are apt to be destroyed if they are kept for 

 any length of time. Some germinate in the space of a few weeks, others lie dor- 

 mant until February and March, and others do not germinate until the rains. 



The method of sowing seeds in China is thus described, being similar to the 

 native plan of sowing mangoes in [ndia. " Several seeds are dropped into holes 

 four or five inches deep and three or four feet apart, shortly after they ripen, or 

 in November and December ; the plants rise up in a cluster when the rains come 

 on. They are seldom transplanted, but sometimes four to six are put quite close 

 to form a fine bush."* By this method nothing is gained, and the expenditure 

 of seeds great. 



If the plants germinate in November, which, as ah'eady stated, many do, they 

 ought to be covered with a chupper made of bamboo and grass. 



In the hills, everywhere at an elevation of 6,000 and 7,000 feet, the ringal, a 

 small kind of bamboo, of which there are several species, is found in great abun- 

 dance, and well adapted for the purpose, and in the Deyrali Dhoon the bamboo 

 occurs in vast quantity ; the market of the Upper Provinces being chiefly sup- 

 plied from that valley and other forests at the base of the Himalayas. Bamboos 

 are also met with to the height of six and seven thousand feet on the Himalayas 

 in the neighbourhood of Almorah. During the day, in the cold weather, the 

 chappers ought to be removed, and again replaced at night ; as the weather be- 

 comes hot, it is necessary to protect the young plants from the heat of the sun, 

 that is, in April and May, and until the rains commence ; the chuppers at this 

 time ought to be put on about eight a.m., and removed again about four p.m. 



Method of rearing plantations by layers, and by cuttings, — The best season for 

 laying down is when the sap is dormant, or in cold weather; or when in full ac- 

 tion, as in the rains. " Lajang," as expressed by Dr. Lindley, " is notliingbut 

 striking from cuttings, which are still allowed to maintain their connection with 

 the mother plant by means of a portion of their stem." There are various me- 

 thods of making layers, but the most simple and efficient is to bend down a 

 branch, and sink it into the earth after having made a slit or notch in the centre 

 of the embedded portion. By so doing, the descent of the sap is retarded, and 

 thus the formation of radicles or young roots is promoted ; about five or six 

 inches or more, of the branch, is to be allowed to remain above ground, and in a 

 position as perpendicular to the point where the plant is notched as possible. In 

 three or four months these layers are ready to be removed and transi^lanted ; 

 the removal of the layers is to be gradual, that is, they ought first to be cut 

 half through, then a little more, and finally altogether separated. 



The best season for propagating by cuttings is the cold weather, that is, from 

 November to February ; they may also be propagated, though not with the same 

 success, during the rains ; it is necessary to protect them against frost in the 

 cold weather, and from the rays of the sun in the hot. Cuttings put in during 

 the cold weather are ready to transplant in the rains, and if put in during the 

 rains, they are generally fit for removal in February. 



On the method of transplanting and season. — In transplanting young tea-plants 

 care should be taken to lift them with a good large ball of earth attached to 

 their roots, as they throw out a long central or tap root, which, if cut through, 

 invariably destroys the plant. On being placed in the ground, the earth around 

 them is to be well pressed dovv^n and watered ; the watering is to be continued 



* See article Thea, by Tr. So3ie, in - Pcnuy C'v ' "'^'1 is^ir.. \;. 286 



