TEA, 



123 



appear to me to be the most suitable for tbe cultivation of the tea plant in this 

 part of the Himalayas. My remarks upon climate will therefore refer to this part 

 of the country. 



From a table of temperature kept at Ha^nilbaugh fi'om Xorember 28th, 1850, 

 to July 13th, 1851, obligingly furnished me by Dr. Jameson, I observed that 

 the climate here is extremely mild. Dm-ing the winter months, the thermometer 

 [Fahr.] at sunrise was never loAver than H deg., and only on two occasions 

 so low, namely on the loth and 16th of February, 1851. Once it stood so high 

 as 66 deg. on the morning of February 4th, but this is fall ten degrees higher 

 than usual. The minimum in February must, however, be several degrees 

 lower than is shown by this table, for ice and snow were not unfrequent ; 

 indeed, opposite the 16th of February in the column of remarks, I find wiitten 

 down a very f rosty morning. This discrepancy no doubt arises either from a 

 bad thermometer being used, or from its being placed in a sheltered verandah. 

 We may, therefore, safely mark the minimum as 32 deg. instead of 44 degrees. 



The month of June appears to be the hottest in the year. I observe the thenno- 

 meter on the 5th, 6th and 7th of that month stood at 92 deg. at 3 p.m., and 

 this was the highest degree marked during the year. The lowest, at this hour, 

 during the month was 76 deg., but the general range in the 3 p.m. column of 

 the table is from 80 deg. to 90 degrees. 



The ivet and dry seasons are not so decided in the hills as they are in the plains. 

 In January, 1851, it rained on five days and ten nights, and the total quantity of 

 rain which fell, as indicated by the rain gauge, during this month, was 5.25 

 inches ; in February, 3.84 fell ; in March, 2.11 ; in April, 2.24 ; in May, none ; 

 and in June 6.13. In June there are generally some days of heavy rain, called 

 by the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains, after this there is an interval of 

 some days of dry weather before the regular " rainy season" commences. This 

 season comes on in July and continues until September. October and November 

 are said to be beautiful months with a clear atmosphere and cloudless sky. 

 After this fogs are frequent in aU the valleys until spring. 



In comparing the climate of these provinces with that of China, although we 

 find some important dilference, yet upon the whole there is a great similarity. 

 My comparisons apply, of course, to the best tea districts only, for although 

 the tea shrub is found cultivated from Canton in the south to Tan-chowpoo in 

 Shan-tung, yet the provinces of Fokein, Kainsee and the southern parts of 

 Kiangnan, yield nearly all the finest teas of commerce. 



The town of Tsong-gan, one of the great black tea towns near the far famed 

 "Woo-e-shan, is situated in latitude 27 deg. 47 min, north. Here the thermome- 

 ter in the hottest months, namely in July and August, rarely rises above 100 

 deg. and ranges from 92 deg. to 100 deg., as maximum; while in the coldest 

 months, December and January, it sinks to the freezing point and sometimes 

 a few degrees lower. "W^e have thus a close resemblance in temperature 

 between "Woo-e-shan and Almorah, The great green tea district being- 

 situated two degrees further north, the extremes of temperature are somewhat 

 greater. It will be observed, however, that while the hottest month in the 

 Himalayas is June, in China the highest temperatui'e occurs in July and 

 August : this is owing to the rainy season taking place earlier in China than it 

 does in India. 



In China rain falls in heavy and copious showers in the end of April, and these 

 lains continue at intervals in May and June. The first gathering of tea-leaves, 

 those from which the Pekoe is made, is scarcely over before the air becomes 

 charged with moisture, rain falls, and the bushes being thus placed in such 

 favourable circumstances for vegetating are soon covered again with young 

 leaves, from which the main crop of the season is obtained. 



No one, acquainted with vegetable physiology, can doubt the advantages of 

 such weather in the cultivation of tea for mercantile purposes. And these ad- 

 vantages, to a certain extent at least, seem to be extended to the Himalayas, 

 although the regular rainy season is later than in China. I have already shown, 

 from Dr Jameson's table, that spring showers are fi-equent in Kumaon, although 

 rare in the plains of India ; still, however, I think it would be prudent to adopt 

 the gathering of leaves to the climate, that is to take a moderate portion from 

 the bushes before the rains, and the main crop after they have commenced. 



