396 



TEA DISTEICTS OF CHINA. 



Chap. XXII. 



grains and vegetables form the staple articles on 

 which they live ; this being the case, it is not at all 

 unlikely the Indian will soon acquire a habit which is 

 so universal in China. But in order to enable him 

 to drink tea, it must be produced at a cheap rate ; he 

 cannot afford to pay at the rate of four or six shillings 

 a pound. It must be furnished to him at four pence 

 or six pence instead, and this can easily be done, but 

 only on his own hills. If this is accomplished, and I 

 see no reason why it should not be, a boon will have 

 been conferred upon the people of India of no com- 

 mon kind, and one which an enlightened and liberal 

 Government may well be proud of conferring upon 

 its subjects. 



But while the cultivation of the tea-plant is of the 

 first importance, there are in China other productions 

 of the vegetable kingdom which ought not to be 

 overlooked, and which, if introduced, would add 

 greatly to the comforts of the people of India. There 

 is a fruit-tree, called by botanists Myrica sapicla, 

 which is found growing wild on the Himalayas. A 

 very fine variety of this fruit is cultivated in China, 

 and is as superior to the Indian one as the apple is 

 to the crab. It is much esteemed by the Chinese, 

 and would be a great luxury to the inhabitants of 

 northern India. Our English cherries, chestnuts, 

 and the finer sorts of pears, ought also by all means 

 to be introduced to the Himalayas. They would 

 grow in the climate of Almorah as well as they do at 

 home. 



The varieties of the bamboo found in the north of 



