122 



TEA. 



have come under my notice. In that country they are usually formed on the 

 lovrex slopes of the hills, that is, in such situations as those at G-uddowli; 

 Hawulbaugh, Almorah, Kutoor, kc, in the Himalayas. It is true that in the fine 

 green tea country of Hwuy-chow, in China, near the town of Tunche, many 

 hundred acres of flattish land are under tea cultivation. But this land is close 

 to the hills, vvhich jut out into it in all directions, and it is intersected by a riyer 

 whose bants are usually from 15 to 20 feet above the level of the stream itself, 

 not unlike those of the Ganges below Benares. In fact, it has all the advantages 

 of hUly land such as the tea plant delights in. In extending the Himalaya planta- 

 tion this important fact ought to be kept in view. 



There is no scarcity of such land in these mountains, more particularly in 

 Eastern G-iu'hwal and Kumaon. It abounds in the districts of Paorie, Kunour, 

 Lohba, Almorah, Kutoor, and Bheemtal, and I was informed by Mr. Batten, 

 that there are large tracts about Gungoli and various other places equally 

 suitable. Much of this land is out of cultivation, as I have already stated, 

 while the cultivated portions yield on an average only two or three annas per 

 acre of revenue. 



Such lands are of less value to the zemindars than low rice land, where they 

 can command a good supply of water for irrigation. But I must not be rmder- 

 stood to recommend poor worn out hiU lands for tea cultivation, — land on which 

 nothing else will grow. Nothing is further from my meaning. Tea in order 

 to be profitable requires a good sound soil, — a light loam, well mixed with sand 

 and vegetable matter, moderately moist, and yet not stagnant or sour. Such a 

 soil, for example, as on these hill sides produces good crops of mundooa, wheat 

 or millet, is well adapted for tea. It is such lands which I have alluded to as 

 abounding in the Himalayas, and which are, at present, ot so little value either 

 to the Government, or to the natives themselves. 



The system of Irrigation applied to tea in India is never practised in China. 

 I did not observe it practised in any of the great tea countries which I visited. 

 On asking the Chinese manufacturers whom I brought round, and who had 

 been born and brought up in these districts, whether they had seen such a 

 practice, they all replied, " no, tho.t is the ivay ice grow rice: i':e never irrigate 

 tea." Indeed, I have no hesitation in saying that, in nine cases out of ten, the 

 eifects of irrigation are most injurious. "When tea will not grow without 

 irrigation, it is a sure sign that the land employed is not suitable for such a 

 crop. It is no doubt an excellent thing to have a command of water in case of 

 a long drought, when its agency might be useful in saving a crop which would 

 otherwise fail, but irrigation ought to be used only in such emergent cases. 



I have already observed that good tea land is naturally moist, although not 

 stagnant ; and we must bear in mind that the tea shrub is not a icater x->^ant, 

 but is found in a wild state on the sides of hills. In confu-mation of these 

 views, it is only necessary to observe fur-ther, that all the best JSirnaiayan j^io./da- 

 tions are those to whieh irrigation has been most sparingly applieel. 



In cultivating the tea shi'ub, much injury is often done to a plantation, by 

 plucJcing leaves from very young plants. In China ycung plants are never 

 touched until the third or fourth year after they have been planted. If grow- 

 ing under favorable circumstances, they will yield a good crop after that time, 

 All that ought to be done, in the way of plucking or pruning before that time, 

 should be done with a view to form the plants, and make them bushy if they do 

 not grow so naturally. If plucking is commenced too early and continued, the 

 energies of the plants are weakened, and they are long in attaining any size, and 

 consequently there is a great loss of produce in a given number of years. To 

 make this more plain, I will suppose a bush that has been properly treated to 

 be eight years of age. It may then be yielding from two to three pounds of tea 

 per annum, while another of the same age, but not a quarter of the size, from 

 over- plucking, is not giving more than as many ounces. 



The same remarks apply also to plants which become unhealthy from any 

 cause ; leaves ought never to be taken from such plants ; the gatherers should 

 have strict orders to pass them over until they get again into a good state of 

 health. 



2nd. On climate. — I have already stated that eastern Gurhwal and Kumaon 



