1336.] 



Sugar, and the Tea plant. 



487 



debted to Captain Jenkins ; and the second is from the Bohea Hills in 

 China, sent round by Mr. Gordon, the Secretary to the Tea Commit- 

 tee, and obligingly given to me by Mr. Grant, of the Honourable 

 Company's Export Warehouse. How very alike they seem, you will 

 at once have noticed, and their analysis gives as follows : — 



Tea soils of Assam. Tea soil of China. 





Surface 



At 2$ feet 







soil. 



deep. 





Water 





2.00 



3.00 





1.00 



.80 



1.00 







6.70 



9.90 







5.45 



9.10 







84.10 



76.00 



99.05 99.00 

 .95 1.00 



100.00 10.000 

 There are two peculiarities in these soils ; the first, that they contain 

 no carbonate of lime, and only traces of phosphate and sulphate ; and 

 the next, that their iron is almost wholly in the state of carbonate of 

 iron — a widely different compound from the simple oxides. They 

 would be called poor yellow loams ; and cotton, tobacco, or sugar-cane 

 would probably starve upon them : but we find that they suit the tea 

 plant perfectly. It is a striking coincidence, that we should find our 

 tea soils and those of China so exactly alike. 



I fear to grow prolix, though I have much more to say on the sub- 

 ject of soils ; I shall therefore break off, trusting that for the present I 

 have amply shown the necessity of a careful examination of the soil ; 

 and that the commercial public, who can do so much for us in this way, 

 will not neglect their own interests in procuring specimens of soils for 

 us ; for to go to work in ignorance of this great element of success, is 

 absolutely to blunder on in the dark where chemistry would lend us an 

 unfailing light. 



99.75 



Traces of phosphate and sulphate > 25 

 of lime and loss, > ' 



100.0 



[We have also received specimens of the tea soils for analysis, but for want of space 

 must postpone the notice of our results, which agree for the most part with Mr. Pid- 

 dington's. We have also an analysis of the Assam tea soil by Dr, McClelland,— Ed.] 



