THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1892. 
170 
in  Hailakandi).  All  the  gardens  in  Lakhimpore  have 
famished  returns  this  year,  while  in  1890  eight  gardens 
had  to  be  estimated  for. 
The  Chief  Commissioner’s  thanks  are  due  to  those 
planters  and  agents  who  have  helped  Deputy  Com- 
missioners by  furnishing  statistics  on  which  this  report 
is  based. 
The  statement  below  gives  fcr  the  last  six  years 
the  areas  under  mature  and  immature  tea  plants, 
id  the  total  area  held  by  tea  planters  : 
Year. 
Under  mature 
Under  im- 
Total area  of 
plants. 
mature 
land  held  by 
plants. 
tea  planters. 
Aores. 
Acres. 
Acre». 
1886 
...  170,138 
33,855 
934,134 
1887 
..  177,900 
33.179 
950,171 
1888 
. . 188329 
28,347 
955,499 
1889 
. . 196,689 
30,560 
1,000,665 
1890 
. . 200,658 
30,380 
994,497 
1891 
. . 208,407 
33,416 
996,746 
The  above  shows  an  inorease  under  all  the  heads  ; 
that  in  area  under  mature  plants  being  a steady  one. 
The  inorease  in  aTea  under  mature  plants,  which  has 
been  general  in  the  Surma  Valley,  and  in  the 
upper  districts  of  the  Brahmaputra  Valley  is 
due  to  1 immature  ’ plants  passing  to  the  category 
of  ‘ mature  ’ after  their  fourth  year  of  growth,  Silchar, 
Habigunge,  Gauhati,  Nowgong,  Sibsagar,  and  Golaghat, 
show  a deorease  in  area  under  immature  plants,  which 
is  partly  due  to  tho  above  reason,  and  partly  to  ex- 
tensions not  keeping  pace  with  the  progress  of  plants 
from  immature  to  the  mature  stage. 
In  the  statement  below,  figures  are  given  showing 
the  total  area  under  cultivation  for  the  last  two  years  : — 
Total  urea 
under 
mature  and  im- 
Distriot. 
mature  plants. 
S 
Increase  or 
1890. 
1891. 
decrease. 
Acres. 
Acres. 
AcreB. 
Cachar 
56,562 
58,793 
plus  2,231 
Sylhet 
43,196 
46.428 
„ 3,232 
Kbasi  and  Jaintia 
Hills 
30 
30 
... 
Goalpara 
397 
425 
„ 28 
Kamrup 
6,361 
5,131 
— 1,230 
Darrang 
21.327 
23,134 
plus  1,807 
Nowgong 
11.868 
11,886 
„ 18 
Sibsagar 
54,940 
58  370 
„ 3,430 
Lakhimpore 
36,357 
37,626 
„ 1,269 
Total 
231,038 
241,823 
plus  10,785 
The  increase  in  Caohar,  Sibsagar  and  Lakhimpore  is 
due  to  reoent  extensions.  The  Deputy  Commissioner 
of  Sylhet  attributes  the  large  increase  in  his  district  to 
the  extensive  areas  put  under  tea  year  by  year  in  all 
subdivisions,  which  have  now  come  under  the  category 
of  mature.  No  reason  has  been  given  for  the  increase 
in  Darrang,  except  that  the  figures  are  only  approxi- 
mate, estimates  having  to  be  made  for  11  gardens  some 
of  which  have  not  furnished  returns  for  many  years. 
The  variations  in  other  districts  have  not  been  suffi- 
ciently accounted  for.  The  total  outturn  of  tea  in 
1891  is  reported  as  90,399,362  lb.  being  an  increase  of 
8,280,110  lb.  or  10-08  per  oent  over  the  previous  year’s 
figures. 
The  following  table  compares  with  the  figures  fur- 
nished by  the  Indian  Tea  Association,  and  the  Trade 
Returns  with  those  reported  by  the  Deputy  Commis- 
sioners 
Outturn  according  to  Indian  Tea  Aasocpation  1890: 
Brahmaputra  Valley  45,416,721  lb..  Surma  Valley 
31 472,703  lb.  total  76,889,424 ; 1891  : Brahmaputra 
Valley  50,967,373  lb.  Snrma  Valley  38,696,664  lb.  total 
89,664,037  lb. 
Outturn  according  to  trade  returns,  1890  : Brahma- 
putra Valley  46,703,973  lb.  Surma  Valiev,  32,016,795 
lb.  total  78,720,768  lb. ; 1891  : Brahmaputra  Valley 
46,418,277  lb.  Surma  Valley  34,563,950  lb.  to'al 
90  982  227  lb. 
Outturn  according  to  Annual  Tea  tteport,  1890: 
Brahmaputra  Valley  48,144,401  lb.|  Surma  Valley 
33.974,851  lb,,  total  82,119,252  lb.  ; 1891 : Brahmaputra 
Valley  50.643  374  lb.  Surma  Valley  39,755,988  lb., 
total  90,399.362  lb. 
The  Trade  Retnrn  figures  arc,  as  usual,  the  lowest, 
and  those  fori-ished  by  the  district  officers  the 
highest.  The  difference  between  the  latter  and  the 
Indian  Association  figures  ib no',  however,  so  largethis 
year,  being  only  736,325  lb.,  as  against  5, 229, 8281b., 
in  1890.  All  the  three  sets  of  figures  point  to  a 
growth  in  production  which,  moreover,  has  beer)  con- 
tinuous for  some  years. 
Thus,  the  yield  in  all  districts,  except  the  Kbasi  and 
Jaintia  Hills,  Kamrup,  and  NowgODg,  baB  increased. 
Darrang,  which  stowed  a slight  falling  off  in  1890, 
has  much  improved  thie  year,  while  the  decrease  in 
Kamrup,  which  is  attributed  to  short  rainfall 
and  want  of  labour,  still  continues.  The  snme  reason 
is  given  for  the  decrease  in  Nowgong.  The 
large  increase  in  Goalpara,  viz.,  29-43  per  cent 
against  1-40  per  cent  in  1890,  in  rather  curiously 
explained.  For  ioslance,  while  one  manager  puts  it 
down  to  the  “ peculiarity  of  the  season,”  and  “ uneven 
distribution  of  rainfall.”  another  says,  “ the  season 
has  been  an  exceptionally  good  one  and  has  increased 
the  yield.”  The  Deputy  Commissioner  adds  as  his  own 
opinion  : — 
I believe  the  season  was  a very  bad  one  for  want 
of  sufficient  rain  throughout  the  year,  The  increase 
m the  yield  may  have  been  caustd  by  the  increase 
in  the  number  of  mature  plants. 
The  explanations  given  in  the  preceding  page  goto 
show  that  the  state  of  things  varies  considerably  in 
different  parts  of  the  same  district.  This  statement 
is  born  out  by  two  other  conflicting  remarks  quoted 
below. 
With  reference  to  the  outturn  for  his  district,  the 
Deputy  Commissioner  of  Darang  writes  : — 
In  spite  of  the  dry  season  many  of  the  gardens  near 
the  hills  did  fairly  well.  Many  of  these  are  new 
gardens,  on  which  young  bushes  come  under  the 
fingers  of  the  plucker  in  increased  numbers  year  by  year. 
One  of  the  leading  planters  in  the  district,  however, 
says  : — 
The  tea  season  of  1891,  as  far  as  southern  Mangal- 
dai  is  concerned,  has  been  the  worst  on  record  for 
many  years  as  far  as  yield,  and  many  without  doubt 
be  put  down  to  the  scanty  rainfall  right  through  the 
season. 
The  Deputy  Commissioner  of  Kamrup  quotes  a 
manager,  whose  account,  too,  of  the  past  tea  season 
is  very  desponding,  from  which  the  following  is  an 
extract : 
I may  mention  that  on  aocount  of  an  unusual  drought, 
this  season  has  beeD,  for  yield  and  quality  of  teas, 
the  worst  experienced  by  me  during  seventeen 
years.  * * * 
In  the  case  of  Sylhet  the  reason  given  in  para- 
graph 6 above  for  the  increase  in  area  under  mature 
and  immature  plants,  applies  also  as  an  explanation 
of  the  increased  yield. 
The  Deputy  Commisaioner  of  Caohar  attributes  tbe 
increase  in  his  district  to  the  new  extensions  lately 
made  on  richer  lands  now  beginning  to  yield. 
On  the  whole,  the  year  under  report  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  favourable  for  the  growth  of  tea 
throughout  the  province.  Blight  was  not.  prevalent 
to  any  great  extent,  but  hailstorms  did  considerable 
damage  to  some  gardens  in  Cachar.  and  Lakbimpore. 
The  rainfall  was  most  unevenly  distributed,  and 
caused  the  season  to  close. 
Few  of  the  district  reports  give  aDy  correct  in- 
formation under  the  head  of  prices,  a reault  whioh  is 
chiefly  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  many  gardens  much 
of  the  tea  was  unsold  when  the  reports  were  submitted. 
Tbe  figures  kindly  furnished  by  the  Secretary,  Indian 
Tea  Association,  are — 
Assam  Valley  teas  ...  As.  7 per  lb. 
Surma  Valley  teas  ...  As.  6 to  As.  4 per  lb. 
These  prices  are  somewhat  lower  than  those  for  the 
previous  which  were — 
Assam  Valley  teas  ..  As.  7"5  per  lb. 
Surma  Valley  teas  ...  As.  6 8 to  As  6-9per  lb. 
The  complaint  is  almost  general  that  the  tea  market 
