274 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[Oct.  I,  1896. 
It  is  a siugulai’ fact,  perhaps,  and  one  worth  nothing, 
tliat  it  is  to  JCnglislimen  tiiat  the  introduction  of 
tea  culture  to  tlie  Caucasus  is  really  due,  for  it  was 
an  Englishman  who  was  the  first  to  point  out 
to  ilussians  that  the  soil  aud  climate  and  general 
conditions  of  growth  in  the  locality  near  Eatum  ex- 
actly resembled  tiiose  of  the  regions  of  China  where 
the  liner  qualities  of  tea  are  produced.  The  early 
experiments  of  cultivator',  prominent  among  whom 
was  Professor  Butlerov,  w'ere  dead  f jilures  30  years 
ago.  And  Butlerov’s  successors  did  not  succeed  where 
he  had  failed.  The  first  success  at  tea  growing  in  the 
Caucasus  attended  the  efforts  of  Colonel  Solovtsov,  who 
commenced  cultivation  on  an  insignificant  scale  about 
10  years  ago  — to  be  precise  in  the  year  1885.  He  had, 
as  may  be  anticipated  in  Russia,  many  difficulties  to 
contend  with  ere  he  could  start  his  experimental  garden. 
Neither  seed  nor  plants  could  bo  obtained  in  Europe, 
so  he  had  to  import  young  shrubs  from  China.  Seed 
was  not  to  be  relied  upon,  for  the  Celestials  gene- 
rally send  the  outer  barbarians  old  seed  which  will 
'not  germinate,  and  new  seed  when  it  is  obtained 
loses  a certain  essential  oil  it  contains  in  the  course 
of  a long  tropical  voyage,  aud  consequently  fails 
to  grow  when  sown.  In  the  month  of  July,  1885, 
Colonel  Solovtsov  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  China 
a few  tinny  plants,  but  these  had  been  maltreated 
by  the  Customs  authorities,  who,  not  knowing  one 
plant  from  another,  took  thorn  to  be  vines,  and  ac- 
cordingly disinfected  them  well  wdth  quicklime  to 
prevent  the  importation  of  the  phylloxera  into  the 
country.  The  young  seedlings  were  at  once  taken 
to  Solovtsov’s  garden  at  Chakva,  near  B.itum,  and 
planted  out  iii  a soil  of  a red  clayey  nature,  which 
had  been  trenched  two  spits  deep.  At  first  ail  grew 
badly,  and  the  larger  .shrubs  died  off,  but  a few  of  the 
smallest  of  the  seedlings  lived  011,  grew  to  a fair  sizo 
and  bore  seed,  and  from  these  Colonel  Solovtsov  was  en- 
abled to  increase  and  extend  his  planta'ions.  The  gar- 
den covered  five  years  ngo  five  acres  of  land,  con- 
tained over  2,000  plants  about  five  yeai's  old  and  8,000 
seedlings  and  over  -12,000  more  were  to  be  raised  by 
1893.  Tlie  variety  grown  |jy  Colonel  Solovt.sov  is  that 
scientifically  termed  Tbea  Virirlis,  a more  northerlv 
species  of  the  Tliea  Suiensis.  While  Colonel  Solovtsov 
has  been  can-ying  on  his  exporimeutal  plantations  in 
the  Caucasus,  other  firms  have  embai’ked  iii  the  in- 
dustry as  a commercial  speculation  with  a view  to 
remunerative  returns.  Foremost  antong  these  is  the 
house  of  K,  aud  S.  Popov,  of  kloscow,  a firm  engaged 
in  the  China  tea  trade  as  agents  and  importers.  They 
have  over  5U0  acres  of  tea  plantations  at  Chakva, 
near  Batum,  on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea.  They 
are  managed  by  Chinese  overseers  aud  supriiitendents 
who  have  been  brought  from  China  foi-  the  ])nrpose, 
and  tlii-y  alToi'd  occupation  to  over  (lOOnative  labc)urers. 
Such  lias  been  the  success  attending  tliesc  tea-gai'dens 
that,  it  is  reported,  lai'go  extensions  of  the  planta- 
tions ai'(!  contemplated  now  tiiat  the  peouliaritii-s 
of  the  tea  shrub  are  better  understood,  and  its 
requirements  in  the  strange  soil  of  the  Caucasus  have 
become  more  clearly  kown.  Some  idea  of  the  pro- 
jiortions  which  the  tea  industry  in  the  Caucasus  is 
bc"iuuiiig  to  assume  may  he  gathered  from  tlie  fact 
that  a force  of  labourers' GOO  strong  as  employed  on 
tlio  Popov  plantations  is  equal  to  the  production  of 
10,000  lbs.  of  tea  per  week. 
The  plant  appears  to  have  no  special  care  or  treat- 
ment in  the  clistricts  of  the  Caucasus  where  it  has 
been  acclimatised.  Propagation  by  means  of  cutting.s 
is  best  avoided,  it  is  said,  for  the  cuttings  do  not 
take  in  reasonable  proportions,  and  plants  raised 
from  cuttings  never  make  sturdy,  bushy  shrubs. 
Seedlings  do  best  and  require  least  attention.  They 
arc  raised  with  certainty  from  the  seed  which,  in 
the  Caucasus,  ripens  in  the  course  of  a year,  and 
are  gathered  in  the  month  of  October,  at  which 
time  the  Thea  Viridis  flowers.  The  seeds  after  being 
collected  are  mixed  with  dry  sand,  and  kept  in 
earthenware  receptacles  until  the  month  of  Marcli, 
■\vhen  they  arc  damped  with  a solutionoE  c.amphor  spirits 
and  water,  which  liastens  and  promotes  germina- 
tion. Tliey  arc  then  replaced  in  the  cartlienwaro 
vessel,  l)ut  ini.xed  with  a quantity  of  black  soil  in 
■which  they  liegin  to  grow,  and  as  soon  as  the  tiny 
sjcedliog  lU'c  laigc  enough  to  luuKlle,  they  arc  caro- 
fully  lifted  out,  one  by  one,  aiid  planted  in  nursery 
rows.  Hero  the  soil  is  improved  by  an  admixture 
of  sea  sand,  and  tlic  plants  are  proicotod  from  the 
sun  by  mats  stretched  over  them.  In  dry  weather 
they  require  watering  once  a day,  and  under  t'le 
system  here  outlined  every  seed  witliout  exception 
germinates,  aud  every  plant  grows  to  a sturdy  slmib, 
yielding  a fall  supply  of  leaves  for  picking  in  the 
■proper  se.ason,  or  as  it  is  termed  “flushing.’’  When 
planted  out  in  the  permanent  gardens  at  the  end  of 
the  fl'i'st  year  they  require  uo  attention  whatever, 
either  in  shading  or  artificial  watering,  but  may  bo 
safely  left  to  nature,  the  only  thing  needful  being 
to  keep  the  ground  clear  of  weed.s,  by  hoeing  well 
twice  a year.  During  the  dry  season  in  the  Cau- 
casus, that  is,  the  months  of  May  and  .June,  when 
the  heat  is  intense,  the  plants  do  not  seem  to  feel 
the  effects  of  the  drought  in  any  way.  And  they 
stand  the  bitter  cold  of  the  exposed  region  of  the 
Black  Sea  equally  well.  The  winter  of  1892-93  was 
an  exceptionally  severe  one.  The  temperature  was 
as  low  frequently  as  G deg.  of  Reaumur,  13  5 deg. 
below  freezing  point,  and  although  the  tea  plants 
were  covered  with  snow  aud  ice  up  to  the  tips  of 
the  leaves  for  days  together,  neither  the  older  shrubs 
nor  the  young  seedlings  suffered  iu  any  way.  Aud 
the  tea  gardens  in  the  Batum  district  are  in  a 
quite  opon  aud  exposed  situation,  where  every  blast 
of  cold  wind  sweeps  the  entire  length  and  breadth 
of  tlie  country. 
With  a plant  so  accommodating  in  its  nature, 
soil  and  climate  adapted  to  it,  and  the  plantations 
of  one  linn  already  equal  to  an  output  of  10,000  lb. 
weekly,  the  tea  industry  of  the  Caucasus  must  be 
proiiouiiced  to  have  made  not  merely  a good  start 
but  very  remarkable  progress  since  1885,  when  the 
first  serious  attempts  at  cultivation  had  their  origin 
in  Colonel  Solovtsov’s  experimental  garden.  Aud, 
now  that  the  CTOVorniuent  is  going  in  for  tho  busi- 
ness on  a large  scale,  the  industry  has  every  pros- 
pect of  attaining  big  proportions.  It  may  not 
realise  all  t'uit  patriotic  Russians  expect  or  assert, 
hut  it  can  hardly  fail  to  deal  a serious  blow  to  the 
Chinese  trade,  and  may  indirectly,  if  not  directly, 
have  some  effect  upon  our  own  plauta'-ions  in 
Assam  aud  Ceylon. — MorningVosl,  Aug.  22. 
NOTES  FROM  THE  METKOPOLIS. 
Buxton,  Aug.  20. 
] have  alluded  above  to 
MkXIOO 
and  its  capahlo  IT'c.sident  Dias;  but  T saw  lately 
great  complaints  about  incre.ased  export  taxes 
which  it  is  luopo.sed  to  levy  011  i»roduce  leaving 
that  country.  This  will  no  doubt  check  the 
extension  of  coffee  planting,  among  other  indus- 
tries tlicre. 
Mr.  Eteveni  writing  from  Sweden  in  answer  to 
an  inquiry,  as  to  the  piospects  of 
CKYLON  TICA  IN  .SCANDIN.-Wr AN  COUNTRIKS, 
has  given  me  some  interesting  information.  He 
writes  : — 
“ You  would  like  to  kinw  what  prospects  Ceylon 
tea  has  in  Sweden  and  Norway.  As  the  Swedish 
and  Norwegian  people  are  every  year  becoming  more 
attached  to  tea-drinking  I .should  say  your  tea  has 
a great  future  here.” 
Mr.  Steveni  recommends  an  agency  in  the  island 
of  Gothland,  where  he  was  on  a visit;  and  which 
he  says  has  a population  of  about  60,000,  mostly 
well-to-do  farmers  and  peasants.  I have  endea- 
voured to  interest  a well-known  Ceylon  tea- 
distributing  linn  (its  ]>artner  being  old  Ceylon 
planters)  in  this  new  opening  and  hope  something 
will  come  of  it. 
Only  the  other  day  was  my  attention  drawn 
to  some  ill-considered  remarks  in  a contemporary 
of  yours,  criticising  my  letter  on 
COI'TKK  I’UODUCTION 
iu  the  Loudon  Times,  with  the  snarl  that 
1 should  he  doing  the  Ceylon  planters  hot- 
