90 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
®levations.  As  registers  have  been  kept  since  I860 
for  tlie  company  i served  in  Darjeeling  far  thirty 
years,  and  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years  at  no  less 
than  eleven  stations,  at  various  elevations  from  1,400 
to  6,300  feet,  the  statements  in  the  appendix  are 
given  to  avoid  further  details  here. 
The  latest  complete  Government  returns  that 
I have  been  able  to  obtain  give  the  entire  area 
of  the  Darjeeling  district  as  1,234  square  miles, 
about  equal  to  that  of  the  county  of  Stafford. 
The  old  hill  territory,  containing  the  well- 
known  tea  gardens,  is  put  at  477  square  miles,  the 
Terai  at  271,  and  the  Daling-hill  district  at  186 
square  miles.  Of  the  whole,  438  square  miles  were 
returned  in  the  possession  of  the  Forest  Department, 
307  miles  as  held  by  native  cultivators  for  cereal 
crops  inalienable  for  tea  as  far  as  the  hilts  is  con- 
cerned, 70  miles  had  been  allotted  to  the  Govern- 
ment Cinchona  Department,  and  329  square  miles  as 
grants  for  tea  cultivation.  It  will,  therefore,  appear 
that  but  one-fourth  of  the  whole  has  been  allotted 
for  tea,  and  that  certainly  not  more  than  one- 
thirteenth  or  about  seven  and  a-half  por  cent  of  the 
entire  district  is  actually  bearing  tea  at  the  present 
time.  From  information  kindly  furnished  by  the 
India  Office  I find  the  area  of  the  district  is  now  stated 
to  be  1,164  square  miles,  and  the  difference  may  be  due 
to  the  portion  marked  off  and  include  in  the  Dooars 
district  some  years  ago.  I am  als ) of  opinion  that 
for  tea,  transfer  of  some  of  the  laud  returned  as 
above  for  native  cultivation  may  have  taken  place 
in  the  Terai.  Yet  if  this  be  so,  the  proportion  of  the 
tea  grants  would  not  be  greater  than  stated.  Seeing 
tha  Census  of  India  Ileport,  published  in  1893, 
gives  212  square  miles  as  the  area  held  for  tea 
estates,  I cannot  be  charged  with  any  desire  to 
understate  the  proportion  allotted  for  tea.  Hardly 
any  land  on  the  hills  suitable  and  available  for  tea 
remains  unplanted. 
The  more  recently  acquired  district  of  Baling  may 
be  taken  as  about  equal  in  extent  to  that  of  the 
entire  original  Darjeeling  hill  territory,  and  generally 
comprises  much  gentler  slopes.  Of  this  250  square 
miles  are  returned  as  made  over  to  the  Forest  De- 
partment, 30  as  retained  by  Government  for 
cinchona,  and  141  consisting  of  beautiful 
slopes,  most  desirable  as  a place  of  residence  for 
Europeans,  and  as  suitable  a district  for  European 
colonisation  as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  East, 
has  been  reserved  by  Government  for  natives,  and 
is  now  largely  in  the  possession  of  Ncpalis  who  are 
aliens,  and  a smaller  proportion  of  aborigines  and 
semiaborigines.  About  65  square  miles  of  this  sub- 
division was  reserved  for  tea,  hut  so  unsuitable  was 
it  that,  notwithstanding  tlie  eagerness  for  tea  grants, 
especially  in  the  hills,  only  about  eight  or  nine 
square  miles  had  been  taken  up  when  I left  India 
in  1893,  and  hardly  more  than  about  1,200  acres 
altogether  have  been  opened  out.  These  new  gardens 
adjoin  the  Dooars,  and  may  be  said  to  belong  to 
that  dis  rict  rather  than  to  Darjeeling. 
The  late  Dr.  Archibald  Campbell,  who  was 
an  active  and  enthusiastic  member  of  the  Indian 
Section  of  this  Society,  was  the  first  resident  Govern- 
ment official  at  Darjeeling,  and  did  much  for  the 
district  in  its  early  years.  He  was  removed  from 
the  residency  at  Nepal  to  be  superintendent  of  Dar- 
jeeling in  1840,  and  in  1811-42  he  made  the  first  trial 
of  growing  tea  in  the  district.  He  continued  his 
experiments,  and  in  1847  had  the  plants  raised,  re- 
ported on  by  a gentleman  from  Assam,  which  fully 
confirmed  him,  in  the  opinion  that  tea  could  be  grown 
successfully  on  the  hills.  Seed  was  distributed  by 
Government  to  several  residents  most  likely  to  do 
justice  to  it,  and  experimental  plots  of  a few  acres 
were  planted  out  in  different  localities,  about  1856;  and 
in  1857 — or  it  may  have  been  a year  earlier  as  asser- 
ted by  some — the  first  tea  garden,  on  an  extended  scale 
or  commercial  footing,  was  started  at  Alloobaree  by 
Major  Samler.  In  the  Terai,  though  experimental 
plots  were  planted  earlier,  the  first  garden  (now 
known  as  Chumpta,  near  Kaprail)  was  opened  out 
by  Mr.  .James  White,  one  of  Darjeeling’s  pioneer 
planters,  than  a most  energetic  man,  who  had  pre- 
viously planted,  in  the  course  of  two  seasons,  very 
[Auu.  I,  1895. 
successfully,  Singel,  near  Kurseing,  still  one  of  the 
largest,  if  not  the  very  largest,  of  our  single  hill 
gardens.  Darjeeling  has  since  grown  gradually  in 
importance  as  a tea-prod  icing  district  and  in  other 
respects.  At  present  there  are  about  189  tea  gardens 
in  ihe  district,  extending  to  about  55,000  acres  under 
plant,  giving  employment  to  not  less  than  70,000 
natives,  excluding  children  and  other  non  workers. 
According  to  the  last  census  returns,  the  rapidly- 
increasing  population  of  the  district  was  94,712  in 
1872,  and  223,314  in  1891.  Uf  the  latter,  88,021  were 
stated  to  be  residents  who  were  actually  born  in 
Nepal.  This  being  so,  the  Nepali  population  of 
Darjeeling  who  have  immigi  ited  at  one  time  or 
another  or  been  born  in  the  district,  can  hardly  be 
less  than  160,000. 
Teais  certainly  the  staple,  if  it  may  not  claim  to  be 
the  only,  Darjeeling  industry,  and  to  say  the  least, 
has  done  much  for  the  district.  The  1895  crop 
amounted  to  10,771,117  lb.  of  which  most  went  home, 
contributing  considerably  to  the  exchequer,  benefiting 
trade  in  many  directions,  and  supplying  nearly  all 
the  return  traffic  to  the  local  railway,  at  highly  re- 
munerative rates,  considering  it  is  conveyed  downhill 
mainly  by  gravitation.  Very  little  produce  of  any 
kind  is  exported,  or  even  supplied  to  the  district,  from 
the  native  holdings. 
In  regard  to  my  main  subject,  the  first  point  requir- 
ing attention  naturally  should  be  the  selection  of  a 
site  for  a garden.  This  is  a matter  of  vital  impor- 
tance, and  calls  for  the  exercise  of  much  judgment  and 
experience,  and  often  exhaustive  labour  in  ex- 
ploiting. The  soil  may  be  looked  upon  as  the. 
constitution,  so  to  speak,  of  a garden  upon 
which  its  prosperity  and  staying  power  mainly 
depend,  and  its  selection,  especially  as  the  subsoil, 
to  a great  depth,  is  of  importance  with  a deep-rooted 
plant  like  tea,  involves  no  light  responsibility. 
JSesides  a wholesome  water  supply,  forest,  water- 
power, and,  in  the  plains,  immunity  from  flooding 
should  all  if  po.ssible,  be  secured.  Hut  as  this  can  no 
longer  concern  Darjeeling  hills,  it  need  not  here  be  dwelt 
upon  at  length.  Though  I have  been  concerned  with 
the  opening-out  of  gardens  of  considerable  extent  on 
Darjeeling  hills,  I have  never  had  the  responsihility  of 
the  selection  of  the  grants  for  them,  but  have  merely 
had  to  endeavour  to  make  the  moit  of  the  ground 
at  my  disposal.  The  original  Darjeeling  gardens 
were,  as  a rule,  selected  and  opened  out  in  a credi- 
table manner,  considering  the  experience  of  the 
time.  During  the  mania  of  4863-61  extensions  were 
puslied  on  upon  risky  and  unsuitable  soil,  beyond 
the  labour  and  experience  available,  the  land  was 
very  imperfectly  prepared  and  plinted  ; there  were 
difficulties  about  seed  ; seedlings  had  often  to  be 
carried  long  distances,  necessarily  resulting  in  failure 
and  consequent  abandonment  for  a time.  A propor- 
tion of  the  land  then  abandoned  has  gradually  been 
re-opened  successfully  under  more  favourable  con- 
ditions. If  a grant  of  land  has  still  to  be  selected 
on  the  hills,  the  most  important  consideration  would 
doubtless  be  to  secure  a soil  that  would  yield  quality, 
and  varying  in  elevation  from  3, .500  to  5,000  feet. 
All  aspec's  grow  tea  ahnost  equally  well ; and  though 
the  southern  and  south-eastern  are  drier  and  more 
difficult  to  plant  successfully,  they  are,  upon  the 
whole,  preferable  when  opened  out.  The  northern 
aspects  require  less  care  and  less  skill,  and  are  not  risky 
for  vacancies,  but  have  comparatively  more  in  their 
favour  at  low,  dry  altitudes  than  high.  Though  gentle 
slopes  are  undoubtedly  preferable,  they  have  generally, 
on  that  very  account,  been  much  more  under  native 
cultivation ; and,  contrary  to  the  expectations  of 
many,  the  steeper — often  extremely  steep— ground 
grows  the  better  teabushes.  It  should  here  be  noted, 
in  regard  to  these  hill-sides,  that  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  tea  to  thrive  upon  the  sites  of  homesteads, 
and  that  for  many  years  luoso  parts  generally  remain 
bald,  comparatively  bare  looking,  and  an  eyesore 
upon  an  otherwise  successful  garden.  Hut  I can  bear 
testimony  to  the  fact  that  such  patches,  after  having 
been  trenched  to  an  unusual  depth,  kept  fallow,  ami 
sulphured  annually  for  three  years,  have  aftersvards 
been  planted  quite  successfully  tlie  tea  bushes  nourish- 
ing and  keeping  pace  with  the  body  of  the  garden 
