432 



The Physical Condition of 



Topography, Structure, and Soils of the Tea Colonies. — The vil- 

 lage of Cuju is situated about twelve miles from the banks of the 

 Noa Dihing river, and twenty miles south of Suddya, in the midst 

 of an extensive forest. It may be approached either by penetrating 

 on elephants directly through the forest from Suddya, or by boats, as 

 far as a spot on the banks of the Noa Dihing, called Cuju g&t, from 

 which a foot-path extends through the forest to the village. About 

 half way there is a small settlement of Singphos, consisting of a few 

 families, scarcely numerous enough to justify the term village being 

 applied to their habitations. In their neighbourhood is a patch of 

 ground a little lower than the adjoining forest, appropriated to the cul- 

 tivation of rice. With this exception the forest is totally uninterrupted 

 from the river to Cuju, where the rice grounds of that village extend 

 over a space of about fifty acres, some two or three feet below the level 

 of the general surface. 



The soil of the rice field is in places rich, but superficial, reposing 

 on a grey sandy clay ; but generally it is itself grey and clayey. The 

 soil in the forest is however light yellow, and of more sandy consist- 

 ence than that of the rice grounds, but still of a somewhat clayey 

 texture. We crossed a small stream, the water of which was coloured 

 with w r hat proved on analysis to be oxide of iron. The bed of the 

 stream being sand, we may expect the same process of consolidation 

 to be going on here, as has already been observed in regard to the 

 Noa Dihing. 



The site of the village of Cuju, though surrounded by extensive 

 forests, and scarcely elevated above the common level, is drier than 

 any place I had previously seen in Upper Assam. The soil in the 

 village, unlike that of the district generally, is of a rich brown colour, 

 and affords good crops of opium. 



The day after our arrival at Cuju, we set out to inspect 

 the colony of tea plants, the first we had ever seen. We de- 

 scended, soon after leaving the village, into a small depression, 

 which had been cultivated for rice ; proceeding about half a mile be- 

 yond this, we entered a thick forest, intersected by a small and near- 

 ly stagnant stream, the source of the Debru. The ground was some- 

 what more sandy, than that of the general surface which we had pass- 

 ed over. Pursuing a foot-path that had been recently formed, we came 

 upon low sandy undulations, connected with the former windings of the 

 stream we had just crossed. The sand in places was thrown up into 

 mounds, the highest of which could not be more than twenty feet. Af- 

 ter leaving these banks of sand, we had occasion to cross the stream 



