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Title: The Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea Author: Edward Money Release Date: August 29, 2016 [EBook #52925] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CULTIVATION, MANUFACTURE OF TEA *** Produced by Henry Flower and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) cover [iii] THE CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. [v] THE CULTIVATION & MANUFACTURE OF TEA, BY LIEUT.-COL. EDWARD MONEY, THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF WHICH SECURED THE PRIZE OF THE GRANT GOLD MEDAL AND Rs. 300, AWARDED BY THE AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF INDIA IN THE YEAR 1871. FOURTH EDITION, REVISED AND SUPPLEMENTED BY ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS. LONDON: W. B. WHITTINGHAM & CO., 91, GRACECHURCH STREET. CALCUTTA: THACKER & CO. 1883. PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. Six new Chapters are added. So much has been done in Tea since I last wrote, I found it impossible to embody all in the former book, and so preferred to give it separately. The new Chapters treat of— Countries outside China and India that produce Tea. Tea Statistics. Markets for Tea outside Great Britain. Making Indian Tea known in the United Kingdom. Tea Machinery. Weighing and Bulking of Indian Teas at Custom House. A separate and full Index of the subjects treated of in the additions to this Fourth Edition will be found at the end of the Book. EDWARD MONEY. East India Club, St. James’s Square, July, 1883. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. The experience of four more years, which includes six months’ residence in the Neilgherries, is embodied in the following, while the whole of the letter-press of the Second Edition has been corrected and revised. EDWARD MONEY. London, April, 1878. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Three years’ further experience, and visiting two Tea districts I had not seen before, have enabled me to amend whatever was faulty in the First Edition. The whole has been revised, and much new matter is added throughout. A new Chapter at the end on the Past, the Present, and the Future of Indian Tea will, it is hoped, be found interesting. An Index (a great want to the First Edition) is added, so that all information on any point can be at once found. The manufacture of Green Tea, of which I was ignorant when I last wrote, is given, and the advisability of that manufacture is discussed. In its present form I hope and believe this little work will be found useful and interesting to all connected with Tea. EDWARD MONEY. Darjeeling, May, 1874. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. The following Essay was written with, firstly, the object of competing for the Gold Medal and the Money Prize offered by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India for the best treatise on the cultivation and manufacture of Tea; and, secondly, with the view of arranging the hundreds of notes on these subjects, which, in the course of eleven years, I had collected. During all these years I have been a Tea planter, making first for myself and others a garden in the Himalayas, and for the last six years doing the same thing for myself in the Chittagong district. Whenever I have visited other plantations (and I have seen a great number in many districts), I have brought away notes of all I saw. Up to the last, at every such visit, I have learnt something—if rarely nothing to follow, something at least to avoid. I have now tested all and everything connected with the cultivation and manufacture of Tea by my own experience, and I can only hope that what I have written will be found useful to an industry destined yet, I believe, in spite of the late panic—the natural result of wild speculation—to play an important part in India. I have endeavoured to adapt this Essay to the wants of a beginner, as there are many of that class now, and may yet be more in days to come, who must feel, as I often have, the want of a really practical work on Tea. To those who have Tea properties in unlikely climates and unlikely sites, I would say two words. No view I have taken of the advantages of different localities can in any way affect the results of enterprises already entered upon. But if the note of warning, sounded in the following pages, checks further losses in Tea, already so vast, while it fosters the cultivation on remunerative sites, I shall not have written in vain. EDWARD MONEY. Sungoo River Plantation, Chittagong, November, 1870. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Past and Present Financial Prospect of Tea 1 II. Labour, Local and Imported 10 III. Tea Districts and their Comparative Advantages. Climate, Soil, &c., in each 13 IV. Soil 31 V. Nature of Jungle 34 VI. Water and Sanitation 35 VII. Lay of Land 37 VIII. Laying out a Garden 42 IX. Varieties of the Tea Plant 47 X. Tea Seed 54 XI. Comparison between Sowing in Nurseries and in Situ 57 XII. Sowing Seed in Situ, id est, at Stake 59 XIII. Nurseries 62 XIV. Manure 67 [vii] [ix] [xi] [xiii] [xiv] [xv] XV. Distances apart to Plant Tea-Bushes 71 XVI. Making a Garden 73 XVII. Transplanting 76 XVIII. Cultivation of Made Gardens 81 XIX. Pruning 86 XX. White Ants, Crickets, and Blight 89 XXI. Filling up Vacancies 92 XXII. Flushing and Number of Flushes 97 XXIII. Leaf-Picking 102 XXIV. Manufacture. Mechanical Contrivances 109 XXV. Sifting and Sorting 134 XXVI. Boxes. Packing 147 XXVII. Management, Accounts, Forms 152 XXVIII. Cost of Manufacture, Packing, Transport, &c. 160 XXIX. Cost of Making a 300-acre Tea Garden 163 XXX. How much Profit Tea can give 168 XXXI. The Past, Present, and Future of Indian Tea 174 XXXII. Countries Outside China and India that Produce Tea 183 XXXIII. Statistics regarding Indian Tea 194 XXXIV. Markets Outside Great Britain 207 XXXV. Making Indian Tea Known in the United Kingdom 218 XXXVI. Tea Machinery 222 XXXVII. Weighing and Bulking of Indian Teas at Custom House 272 Addenda to Third Edition 293 Index 299 [xvi] PRIZE ESSAY ON THE Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea in India. PREMIUM, THREE HUNDRED RUPEES AND THE GRANT GOLD MEDAL. CHAPTER I. PAST AND PRESENT FINANCIAL PROSPECTS OF TEA. Will Tea pay? Certainly, on a suitable site, and in a good Tea climate; equally certainly not in a bad locality with other drawbacks. Why, then, has Tea only paid during the last few years (?) Simply because nothing will pay, which is embarked on without the requisite knowledge; and this was pre-eminently the case with Tea. Nothing was known of Tea formerly, when everybody rushed into it; not much is known even now. Still, with those drawbacks and many others, the enterprise has survived, and it is very certain the day will never come that Tea cultivation will cease in India. I believe there is nothing will pay better than Tea, if embarked on with the necessary knowledge in suitable places, but failing either of these success must not be hoped for. It was madness to expect aught but ruin, under the conditions which the cultivation was entered on in the Tea-fever days. People who had failed in everything else were thought quite competent to make plantations. ’Tis true Tea was so entirely a new thing at that time, but few could be found who had any knowledge of it. Still, had managers with some practice in agriculture been chosen, the end would not have been so disastrous. But any one—literally any one—was taken, and tea planters in those days were a strange medley of retired or cashiered army and navy officers, medical men, engineers, veterinary surgeons, steamer captains, chemists, shop-keepers of all kinds, stable-keepers, used-up policemen, clerks, and goodness knows who besides! Is it strange the enterprise failed in their hands? Would it not have been much stranger if it had not? This was only one of the many necessities for failure. I call them “necessities” as they appear to have been so industriously sought after in some cases. I must detail them shortly, for to expatiate on them would fill a book. No garden should exceed 500 acres under Tea. If highly cultivated one of even half that size will pay enormously, far better than a larger area with low cultivation. Add, say, 400 acres for charcoal, &c., making 900 or say 1,000 acres the outside area that can be required, and the outside that should ever have been purchased for any one estate. Instead of this, individuals and Companies rushing into Tea bought tracts of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty thousand acres. The idea was that, though it might not be all cultivated, by taking up so large an area all the local labour where there was any would be secured. Often, however, these large tracts were purchased where local labour there was none, and what the object there was is a mystery. I conceive, however, there was a hazy idea that if 500 acres paid well, 1,000 would pay double, and that eventually even two or three thousand acres would be put under Tea and make the fortunate possessor a millionaire. In short, there were no bounds, in fancy, to the size a garden might be made, and thus loss No. 2 took place when absurdly large areas were bought of the Government and large areas cultivated. The only fair rules for the sale of waste lands were those of Lord Canning, which the Secretary of State at home, who could know nothing of the subject, chose to modify and upset. Instead of Rs. 2-8 per acre for all waste lands (by no means a low price, when the cost of land in the Colonies is considered) and that the applicant for the land (who had, perhaps, spent months seeking for it) should have it, the illiberal and unjust method of putting the land up to auction with an upset price of Rs. 2-8 was adopted, the unfortunate seeker, finder, and applicant, through whose labour the land had been found, having no advantage over any other bidder. The best, at least the most successful plan in those days, though as unfair and illiberal as the Government action, was to wait till some one, who was supposed to know what good Tea land was, applied for a piece, and then bid half an anna more than he did, and thus secure it. It paid much better than hunting about for oneself, and it was kind and considerate on the part of Government to devise such a plan! In those fever days, with the auction system, lands almost always sold far above their value. The most absurd prices, Rs. 10 and upwards per acre, were sometimes paid for wild jungle lands. Tracts, which natives could have, and in some cases did lease from Government for inconceivably small sums, representing, say, at thirty years’ purchase, 4 annas per acre, were put up for auction with a limit of Rs. 2-8, and sold perhaps at Rs. 8 or 10 per acre. Had the Government given land gratis to Tea cultivators the policy would have been a wise one. To do what they did was scarcely acting up to their professed wish “to develope the resources of the country.” Since the above was written, new rules have been published for the sale of waste lands. The objectionable auction system is continued, and the upset price is much enhanced, as follows:— Schedule of Rates of Upset Prices. Upset price per acre. Districts of the Assam Division Rs. 8 Districts of Cachar and Sylhet 8 Districts of the Chittagong Division 6 Districts of the Chota Nagpore Division 5 The Soonderbuns 5 All other Districts 10 It is not likely that Government will sell much land at such exorbitant rates.[1] Security of title, it is generally thought, is one of the advantages of buying land from the State; but I grieve to state my experience is that the reverse is the case, and will so remain until the following is done:— First. The Government should learn what is and what is not theirs to sell. Such an absurdity, then, as Government ascertaining, years after the auction, that they had sold lands they had no right to sell, could not be. Secondly. That before land is sold it be properly surveyed and demarcated; and what might so easily have been done, and which alone would have compensated for much of bad procedure in other respects, that the simple and obvious plan before the sale, of sending a European official to show the neighbouring villagers and intending purchasers the boundaries of the land to be sold, be resorted to. This last simple expedient would have saved some grantees years of litigation, and many a hard thought of the said grantees against the Government. It would naturally occur to any one at all conversant with the subject; but, alas! in India this is often not the condition under which laws are made. But there is another difficulty at the back of all this. Though the Waste Land Rules enact that the Government, and not the grantee, shall be the defendant in any claim for land within a lot sold, practically the said enactment in no way saves grantees from litigation. Claimants for land always plead that it is not within the boundaries of the land sold, and ergo the grantee is made the defendant to prove that it is. The villagers never having been shown the boundaries by any Government official (for it is not enacted in the Waste Land Rules), the question whether the land claimed is within or without the boundaries is an open one, not always easily decided, and the suit runs its course. I even know of cases where, though survey has been charged for at the exorbitant rate of four annas an acre, the outer boundaries of the lot have never been surveyed at all, but merely copied from old Collectorate maps, which showed the boundaries between the zemindaree and waste lands.[2] Is it strange, then, if buying lands from Government is often buying litigation, worry, loss of time and money. In many countries, for example Prussia (there I know it is so, for I have tested it again and again), there are official records which can and do show to whom any land in question belongs. This may scarcely be practicable in India, but surely the question of title being, as it is, in a far worse state in India than in most countries, any change would be for the better. Anyhow, the present mode the Government adopts in selling lands is a grievous wrong to the purchasers. Words cannot describe the worry and loss some have suffered thereby, and it might all be so easily avoided. I have above detailed two of the drawbacks Tea had to contend with in its infancy; the absurdly high price paid for land was the third. Again, companies and proprietors of gardens wishing to have large areas under cultivation gave their managers simple orders to extend, not judiciously, but in any case. What was the result? Gardens might be seen in those days with 200 acres of so-called cultivation, but with 60 or even 70 per cent. vacancies, in which the greater part of the labour available was employed in clearing jungle for 100 acres further extension in the following spring. I have seen no garden in Assam or Cachar with less than 20 per cent. vacancies, many with far more; and yet most of them were extending. I do not believe now any garden in all India exists with less than 12 per cent. vacancies, but a plantation as full as this did not exist formerly. As the expenditure on a garden is in direct proportion to the area cultivated, and the yield of Tea likewise in direct proportion to the number of plants, it follows the course adopted was the one exactly calculated to entail the greatest expenditure for the smallest yield. This unnecessary, this wilful extension, was the fourth and a very serious drawback. Under this head the fourth drawback may also be included—the fact that the weeds in all plantations were ahead of the labour; that is to say, that gardens were not kept clean. This is more or less even the case to-day; it was the invariable rule then. The consequence was two-fold—first, a small yield of Tea; secondly, an increased expenditure; for it is a fact that the [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] land fifty men can keep always clean, if the weeds are never allowed to grow to maturity and seed, will take nearer one hundred if the weeds once get ahead. The results, too, differ widely: in the first case the soil is always clear; in the second clear only at intervals. The first, as observed, can be accomplished with fifty, the latter will take nearly double the men. The fifth drawback I shall advert to again later, viz., the selection of sloping land, often the steepest that could be found, on which to plant Tea. The great mischief thus entailed will be fully described elsewhere. It was the fifth, and not the least, antagonistic point to success. Number six was the difficulty in the transport of seed to any new locality, for nine times out of ten a large proportion failed; and again the enormous cost of Tea seed in those days, Rs. 200 a maund (Rs. 500 at least, deducting what failed, was its real price). This item of seed alone entailed an enormous outlay, and was the sixth difficulty Tea cultivation had to contend with. It was, however, a source of great profit to the old plantations, and principally accounts for the large dividends paid for years by the Assam Company. Again, many managers at that time had no experience to guide them in the manufacture of Tea; each made it his own way, and often turned out most worthless stuff. There is great ignorance on the subject at the present time, but those who know least to-day, know more than the best informed in the Tea-fever period. Indian Tea was a new thing then; the supply was small, and it fetched comparatively much higher prices than it does now. Still much of it was so bad that the average price all round was low. Tea manufacture, moreover, as generally practised then, was a much more elaborate and expensive process than it is now. This will be explained further on, under the head of “Tea Manufacture;” I merely now state the fact in support of the assertion that the bad Tea made in those days, and the expensive way it was done, was the seventh hindrance to successful Tea cultivation. Often in those days was a small garden made of 30 or 40 acres, and sold to a Company as 150 or 200 acres! I am not joking. It was done over and over again. The price paid, moreover, was quite out of proportion to even the supposed area. Two or three lakhs of rupees (20,000l. or 30,000l.) have been often paid for such gardens, when not more than two years old, and 40 per cent. of the existing area, vacancies. The original cultivators “retired” and the Company carried on. With such drags upon them (apart from all the other drawbacks enumerated) could success be even hoped for? Certainly not. I could tell of more difficulties the cultivation had to contend with at the outset, but I have said enough to show, as I remarked, “that it was not strange Tea enterprise failed, inasmuch as it would have been much stranger if it had not.” Do any of the difficulties enumerated exist now? And may a person embarking in Tea to-day hope, with reasonable hope, for success? Yes, certainly, I think as regard the latter—the former let us look into.[3] People who understand more or less of Tea are plentiful, and a good manager, who knows Tea cultivation and Tea manufacture well, may be found. It will scarcely pay to buy land of the Government at the present high rates, but many people hold large tracts in good Tea localities, and would readily sell. There is plenty of flat land to be got, so no evil from slopes need be incurred. Tea seed is plentiful and cheap. The manufacture of Tea (though still progressing) is simple, economical, and more or less known. Anyhow a beginner now will commence where others have left off. Of course to buy a made garden cheap is better than to make one; but the result in this case is of course no criterion of what profit may be expected from Tea cultivation. As many of the items to be calculated under the heads of cultivation, manufacture, and receipts will be better understood after details on these subjects are gone into, I shall reserve the consideration of “how much profit Tea can give” to the end of this treatise. [8] [9] CHAPTER II. LABOUR, LOCAL AND IMPORTED. When the very large amount of labour required to carry on a plantation is considered, it is evident that facilities for it are a sine quâ non to success. Assam and Cachar, the two largest Tea districts, are very thinly populated, and almost entirely dependent on imported labour.[4] The expense of this is great, and it is the one, and consequently a great drawback to those provinces. The only district I know of with a good Tea climate and abundance of local labour is Chittagong.[5] Several other places have a good supply of local labour, but then their climates are not very suitable. Each coolie imported costs Rs. 30 and upwards (it used to be much more) ere he arrives on the garden and does any work. After arrival he has to be housed; to be cared for and physicked when sick; to be paid when ill as when working; to have work found for him, or paid to sit idle when there is no work; and in addition to all this every death, every desertion, is a loss to the garden of the whole sum expended in bringing the man or woman. Contrast this with the advantages of local labour. In many cases no expense for buildings is necessary, as the labourers come daily to work from adjacent villages, and in such cases no expense is entailed by sick men, for these simply remain at home. There is no loss by death or desertions. When no work is required on the garden, labour is simply not employed. All this makes local labour, even where the rate of wages is high, very much cheaper than imported. The action of Government in the matter of imported labour has much increased the difficulties and expense necessarily attendant on it. It is a vexed and a very long question which I care not to enter into minutely, for it has been discussed already ad nauseam; still I must put on record my opinion, after looking very closely into it, that the Government has not acted wisely, inasmuch as any State interference in the relations of employer and employed (outside the protection which the existing laws give) is a radical mistake. As for the law passed on the subject to the effect that a coolie who has worked out his agreement and voluntarily enters into a new one shall be, as before, under Government protection, and his employer answerable as before to Government, for the way he is housed, treated when sick, &c., it is not easy to see why such enactments are more necessary in his case than in that of any other hired servant or labourer throughout all India. All evidence collected, all enquiries made, tend to show that coolies are well treated on Tea estates. It is the interest of the proprietors and managers to do so, and self-interest is a far more powerful inducement than any the Government can devise. The meddling caused by the visits of the “Protector of Coolies”[6] to a garden conduces to destroy the kind feelings which should (and in spite of these hindrances often do) exist between the proprietor or manager and his men. I do not hesitate in my belief that imported coolies on Tea plantations would be better off in many ways were all Government interference abolished. I do not decry Government action to the extent of seeing the coolies understand their terms of engagements, and are cared for on their journey to the Tea districts; but once landed on the garden, all Government interference should cease. The idea of the State laying down how many square yards of jungle each coolie shall clear in a day, how many square feet he shall dig, &c., &c.! Can any certain rates be laid down for such work? Is all jungle the same, all soil the same; and even if such rates could be laid down, how can the rules be followed? Bah! they are not, never will be, and the whole thing is too childish for serious discussion. It is not difficult to sit at a desk and frame laws and rules that look feasible on paper. It is quite another thing to carry them out. Over-legislation is a crying evil in India, but there is still a worse, namely, legislation and official action on subjects of which the said officials are utterly ignorant. I have said enough to show imported labour cannot vie with local, nor would it do so were all the evils of Government interference removed. I therefore believe Tea property in India will eventually pay best where local labour exists. This will naturally be the case when other conditions are equal, but so great are the advantages of local labour, I believe it will also be the case in spite of moderate drawbacks. [10] [11] [12] CHAPTER III. TEA DISTRICTS AND THEIR COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES, CLIMATE, SOIL, ETC., IN EACH. The Tea districts in India, that is, where Tea is grown in India to-day, are—[7] 1. Assam. 2. The Dehra Dhoon. 3. Kumaon (Himalayas). 4. Darjeeling (Himalayas). 5. Cachar and Sylhet.[8] 6. Kangra (Himalayas). 7. Hazareebaugh. 8. Chittagong. 9. Terai below Darjeeling. 10. Neilgherries (Madras Hills). 11. Western Dooars. In fixing on any district to plant Tea in, four things have to be considered—viz., soil, climate, labour, and means of transport. When—the district being selected—a site has to be chosen, all but the second of these have to be considered again, and the lay of land, nature of jungle, water, and sanitation are also of great importance in choosing a site. I will first, then, discuss generally the Tea districts given above as regards the advantages of each for Tea cultivation. I have seen and studied Tea gardens in all the districts named, except No. 2. What I know of the Dehra Dhoon is from what I have read, and what is generally known of the climate. Before, however, comparing each district, we should know what are the necessities of the Tea plant as regards climate and soil. Tea, especially the China variety, will grow in very varying climates and soils, but it will not flourish in all of them, and if it does not flourish, and flourish well, it will certainly not pay. The climate required for Tea is a hot damp one. As a rule, a good Tea climate is not a healthy one. The rainfall should not be less than 80 to 100 inches per annum, and the more of this that falls in the early part of the year the better. Any climate which, though possessing an abundant rainfall, suffers from drought in the early part of the year is not, cæteris paribus, so good as one where the rain is more equally diffused. All the Tea districts would yield better with more rain in February, March, and April; and therefore some, where fogs prevail in the mornings at the early part of the year, are so far benefited. As any drought is prejudicial to Tea, it stands to reason hot winds must be very bad. These winds argue great aridity, and the Tea plant luxuriates in continual moisture. The less cold weather experienced where Tea is, the better for the plant. It can stand, and will grow in, great cold (freezing point, and lower in winter, is found in some places where Tea is), but I do not think it will ever be grown to a profit on such sites. That Tea requires a temperate climate was long believed and acted upon by many to their loss. The climate cannot be too hot for Tea if the heat is accompanied with moisture. Tea grown in temperate climes, such as moderate elevations in the Himalayas, is quite different to the Tea of hot moist climates, such as Eastern Bengal. Some people like it better, and certainly the flavour is more delicate; but it is very much weaker, and the value of Indian Tea (in the present state of the home market, where it is principally used for giving “body” to the washy stuff from China) consists in its strength. Another all-important point in fixing on a climate for Tea is the fact, that apart from the strength the yield is double in hot, moist climes, what it is in comparatively dry and temperate ones. A really pleasant climate to live in cannot be a good one for Tea. I may now discuss the comparative merits of the different Tea districts. Assam. This is the principal home of the indigenous plant. The climate in the northern portions is perfect, superior to the southern, as more rain falls in the spring. The climate of the whole of Assam, however, is very good for Tea. The Tea plant yields most abundantly when hot sunshine and showers intervene. For climate, then, I accord the first place to Northern Assam. Southern Assam is, as observed, a little inferior. The soil of this province is decidedly rich. In many places there is a considerable coating of decayed vegetation on the surface, and inasmuch as in all places where Tea has been or is likely to be planted it is strictly virgin soil, considerable nourishment exists. The prevailing soil also is light and friable, and thus, with the exception of the rich oak soil in parts of the Himalayas, Assam in this respect is second to none. As regards labour we must certainly put it the last on the list. The Assamese, and they are scanty, won’t work, so the planters, with few exceptions, are dependent on imported coolies; and inasmuch as the distance to bring them is enormous, the outlay on this head is large, and a sad drawback to successful Tea cultivation. The Burhampootra—that vast river which runs from one end of Assam to the other—gives an easy mode of export for the Tea, but still, owing to the distance from the sea-board, it cannot rank in this respect as high as some others. Cachar. The indigenous Tea is also found in a part of this province. The climate differs but little from Assam. In one respect it is better; more rain falls in the spring. The soil is not equal to Assamese soil; it is more sandy, and lacks the power. Again, there is much more flat land fit for Tea cultivation in Assam, and there can be no doubt as to the advantage of level surfaces. As regards transport Cachar has the advantage, for it has equally a water-way, and is not so distant from Calcutta. The labour aspect is much the same in the two provinces, both being almost entirely dependent on imported coolies; but Cachar is nearer the labour fields than Assam. However, after discussing separately the advantages of each province, I propose to draw up a tabular statement, which will show at a glance the comparative merits of each on each point discussed. Chittagong. This is a comparatively new locality for Tea. The climate is better than Cachar in the one respect that there is less cold weather, but inferior in the more important fact that much less rain falls in the spring. In this latter respect it is also inferior to Assam, particularly to Northern Assam. There is one part of Chittagong, the Hill Tracts (Tea has scarcely been much tried there yet), which, in the fact of spring rains, is superior to other parts of the province, as also in soil, for it is much richer there. On the whole, however, Chittagong must yield the palm to both Assam and Cachar on the score of climate, and also, I think, of soil. For though good rich tracts are occasionally met with, they are not so plentiful as in the two last-named districts. Always, however, excepting the Hill Tracts of Chittagong; there the soil is, I think, quite equal to either Assam or Cachar. As regards labour (a very essential point to successful Tea cultivation), Chittagong is most fortunate. With few exceptions (and those only partial) all the plantations are carried on with local labour, which—excepting for about two months, the rice-time—is abundant. For transport (being on the coast with a convenient harbour, a continually increasing trade, ships also running direct to and from England), it is very advantageously situated. Chittagong possesses another advantage over all other Tea districts in its large supply of manure. The country is thickly populated, and necessarily large herds of cattle exist. The natives do not use manure for rice (almost the sole cultivation), and, consequently, planters can have it almost for the asking. The enormous advantages of manure in Tea cultivation are not yet generally appreciated: it will certainly double the ordinary yield of a Tea garden. A chapter is devoted to this subject. Terai below Darjeeling. I have seen this, and the Tea in it, since I wrote the first edition of this Essay. The soil is very good for Tea. The climate is also a good one, but there is not as much rain in the early part of the year as planters could wish. Much difficulty exists about labour, owing to the very unhealthy climate. As the jungle is cleared, however, this last objection will be in a measure got over. As it stands now, it is perhaps the most unhealthy Tea locality in India. Communication will be very easy when the Northern Bengal Railway is finished, which it will be immediately. Except in the point of salubrity (which is, however, an important one), I think this locality a favourable one for Tea. The Dehra Dhoon. I have heard the first Tea in India was planted here. The lucky men, two officers, who commenced the plantation, sold it, I believe, in its infancy, to a company for five lakhs of rupees. What visions did Tea hold forth in those days! In climate the Dehra Dhoon is far from good. The hot dry weather of the North-west is not at all suited to the Tea plant. Hot winds shrivel it up, and though it recovers when the rains come down, it cannot thrive in such a climate. One fact will, I think, prove this. In favourable climates, with good soil and moderate cultivation, 18 flushes or crops may be taken from a plantation in a season. With like advantages, and heavy manuring, 22 or even more may be had. In the “Selections from the Records of the Government of India” on Tea, published in [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] Three general gatherings. 1857 (a book to which many owe their ruin), the following appears, showing how small are the number of flushes in the North-west:— Method of gathering Tea Leaves.—The season for gathering leaves generally commences about the beginning of April, and continues until October; the number of gatherings varies, depending on the moistness and dryness of the season. If the season be good, that is to say, if rain falls in the cold weather and spring, and the general rains be favourable, as many as five gatherings may be obtained. These, however, may be reduced to three general periods for gathering—viz., from April to June, from July to August 15, and from September to October 15. If the season be a dry one, no leaves ought to be taken off the bushes after October 1, as by doing so they are apt to be injured. If, however, there are good rains in September, leaves can be pulled until October 15, but no later, as by this time they have got hard and leathery and not fitted for making good Teas, and it is necessary to give the plants good rest in order to recruit. Some plants continue to throw out new leaves until the end of November; but those formed during this month are generally small and tough. When this was written, the experience detailed related to Dehra Dhoon, the Kumaon, and Kangra gardens, and we see that five flushes or gatherings are thought good. It however makes matters in this respect (far from a general fault in the said “Records”) worse than they are. Ten and twelve flushes, with high cultivation, can be got in the North-west. But what is this as against twenty and twenty-five? Labour is plentiful and cheap. The great distance from the coast makes transport very expensive. Kangra. This is a charming valley, with a delightful climate more favourable to Tea than the Dehra Dhoon, still it is not a perfect Tea climate. It is too dry and too cold. The soil is good for Tea, better than that of the Dhoon, but inferior to some rich soils in the Himalayan oak forests. Local labour is obtainable at cheap rates. Distance makes transport for export very difficult; but a good local market now exists in the Punjab, and a good deal of Tea is bought at the fairs, and taken away by the wild tribes over the border. With the limited cultivation there, I should hope planters will find a market for all their produce. Manure must be obtainable (manure had not been thought of for Tea when I visited Kangra), and if liberally applied, it will increase the yield greatly. Kangra is strictly a Himalayan district, but the elevation is moderate, if I remember right, about 3,000 feet, and the land is so slightly sloping it may almost be called level. A great advantage this over the steep lands, on which most of the Himalayan gardens, many in Cachar, and some in Assam and Chittagong, are planted. Kangra is not the best place for a man who wants to make money by Tea; but for one who would be content to settle there, and content to make a livelihood by it, a more desirable spot with a more charming climate could not be found. Land, however, is not easily procured. The Teas produced in Kangra are of a peculiarly delicate flavour, and are consequently highly esteemed in the London market. Darjeeling. This, too, I have seen since I published the first edition of this Essay. The elevation of the station, 6,900 feet, is far too great; but plantations lower down do tolerably well (that is, well for hill gardens). The climate, like all hill climates, is too cold. As regards transport the Darjeeling plantations will be well situated when the railroad now constructing is finished. Like elevations in Darjeeling and Kumaon are in favour of the former, first, because the latitude is less; secondly, because Darjeeling has much more rain in the spring. I believe, therefore, that the hill plantations of Darjeeling have a better chance of paying than the gardens in Kumaon, but, as stated before, no elevated gardens, that is, none in the Himalayas, have any chance in the race against plantations in the plains, always providing the latter are in a good Tea climate. In two respects, however, Darjeeling is behind Kumaon. The soil is not so good, and the land is much steeper. It is more than absurd, some of the steeps on which Tea is planted in the former; and such precipices can, I am sure, never pay. Gardens, barely removed above the Terai (and there are such in Darjeeling), can scarcely be called “elevated,” and for them the remarks applied to the Terai are more fitting. As a broad rule it should be recognised that the lower Tea is planted in the Himalayas the better chance it has. All the plants in the Darjeeling gardens, with but few exceptions, are China. The China plant makes by far the best Green Tea, and I believe the Darjeeling gardens would pay much better than they do if they altered their manufacture from black to green. (See further on, under the head of Hazareebaugh, what has been done in this way.) All Himalayan gardens should, in my opinion, make Green Tea (Kumaon has awoke to the fact), for all have China plants, and can therefore make far better Green Tea than can be produced from the Hybrid which is so general in plain gardens.[9] Kumaon. It was in this district (a charming climate to live in, with magnificent scenery to gaze at) I first planted Tea in India, and I much wish for my own sake, and that of others, I had not done so. I knew nothing of Tea at the time, and I thought a district selected by Government for inaugurating the cultivation must necessarily be a good one. No hill climate can be a good one for Tea; but the inner part of Kumaon, very cold, owing to its elevation, high latitude, and distance from the plains, is a peculiarly bad one. Yet there it was Government made nurseries, distributed seed gratis, recommended the site for Tea (see the “Records” alluded to), and led many on to their ruin by doing so. The intention of the Government was good, but the officers in charge of the enterprise were much to blame, perhaps not for making the mistake at first (no one at the first knew what climate was suitable), but for perpetuating the mistake, when later very little enquiry would have revealed the truth. I believe it was guessed at by Government officials long ago, but it was easier to sing the old tune; and a very expensive song it has proved to many.[10] I need scarcely, after this, add that I do not approve of Kumaon for Tea. An exhilarating and bracing climate for man is not suited to the Tea plant. The district has one solitary advantage —rich soil. I have never seen richer, more productive land than exists in some of the Kumaon oak forests, but even this cannot in the case of Tea counter-balance the climate. Any crop which does not require much heat and moisture will grow to perfection in that soil. Such potatoes as it produces! Were the difficulties of transport not so great, a small fortune might be made by growing them. Could any part of Kumaon answer for Tea it would be the lower elevations in the outer ranges of the hills, but these are precisely the sites that have not been chosen. Led, as in my own case, partly by the Government example, partly by the wish to be out of sight of the “horrid plains,” and in sight of that glorious panorama the snowy range, planters have chosen the interior of Kumaon. Some wisely (I was not one of them) selected low sites, valleys sheltered from the cold winds; but even their choice has not availed much. The frost in winter lingers longest in the valleys, and though doubtless the yield there is larger, owing to the increased heat in summer, the young plants suffer much in the winter. The outer ranges, owing to the heat radiating from the plains, are comparatively free from frost, but there again the soil is not so rich. Still they would unquestionably be preferable to the interior. Labour is plentiful in Kumaon and very cheap—Rs. 4 per mensem. Transport is very expensive. It costs not a little to send Tea from the interior over divers ranges of hills to the plains. It has then some days’ journey by cart ere it meets the rail, to which 1,000 miles of carriage on the railroad has to be added. Since the above was written, Kumaon has secured a good local market, and I believe sells most of its Tea unpacked to merchants who come from over the border to buy it. It has also improved its position greatly by making Green Teas, for which, as observed before, the China plant is so well fitted. With those two advantages, though the climate is inferior, I suspect that Tea there now pays better than in Darjeeling. Gurhwall is next to Kumaon, and so similar that I have not thought it necessary to discuss it separately. The climate is the same, the soil as a rule not so good. There is one exception though, a plantation near “Lohba,” the Teas of which (owing, I conceive, to its peculiar soil) command high prices in the London market. The gardens, both in Kumaon and Gurhwall, have been generally much better cared for than those in Eastern Bengal. As a rule they are private properties managed by the owners. Hazareebaugh. This district I have resided in since I wrote the first edition of this Essay. The climate is too dry, and hot winds are felt there. A great compensation, though, is labour; it is more abundant and cheaper in this district than in any other. The carriage is all by land, and it is some distance to the rail. But the Tea gardens at Hazareebaugh can never vie with those in Eastern Bengal, inasmuch as the climate is very inferior. The soil is very poor. Neilgherries. The climate is superior to the Himalayan, for the frost is very slight. Were, however, more heat there in summer, it would be better. Some of the Teas have sold very well in the London market, for as regards delicacy of flavour they take a high place. The soil is good, but the temperate climate which holds on these “blue mountains” is not favourable to a large produce. Western Dooars. When the second edition of this work was printed, this district was unknown as Tea locality. My attention was directed to it in 1874; I was the second who planted Tea in it, and I have now completed a garden there. As regards climate, soil, and lay of land, it is perfect, and I believe it will eventually prove the most paying district in India for Tea. The Northern Bengal Railway, just opened, gives it great advantages for transport. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Having now discussed each district, all of which, except the Dehra Dhoon, I have seen, I give, in further elucidation, Meteorological Tables. For those not mentioned in the tables I have failed to acquire the necessary information. My thanks are due to Dr. Coates, at Hazareebaugh, for his kindness in supplying me with much of the data from which the following tables are framed:— TABLE OF ELEVATION AND TEMPERATURE OF TEA LOCALITIES. N.B.—The exact temperature of other Tea Districts not being known, I have confined myself to these; but general remarks on the elevation and temperature of other Tea localities will be found elsewhere. Districts Place Elevation in feet Details January February March April May June July August September October November December D.J.F. M.A.M. J.J.A. S.O.N. Assam Goalparah 386 Monthly Temp. 61·7 63·0 72·6 77·6 76·0 80·3 82·1 81·6 80·5 77·5 69·0 64·6 63·1 75·4 81·3 75·6 Do. Max. 77·2 87·9 94·0 97·0 91·0 91·0 92·0 91·5 92·0 89·0 84·3 78·3 Do. Min. 49·0 48·0 57·2 62·6 67·0 70·0 73·7 73·0 70·1 62·3 50·8 50·0 Gowhatty 134 Monthly Temp. 63·6 67·6 74·5 77·4 80·4 81·8 83·0 82·9 82·2 79·2 71·1 65·5 65·6 77·4 82·6 77·5 Seebsaugor 370 Monthly Temp. 60·0 64·1 69·3 73·8 78·5 82·4 83·6 83·5 83·1 78·3 69·4 62·4 62·2 73·7 83·2 76·9 Debrooghur 396 Monthly Temp. 62·2 63·4 71·3 72·7 77·1 80·7 83·7 81·8 81·0 75·6 67·4 61·0 62·2 73·7 82·1 74·7 Cachar Cachar 76 Monthly Temp. 62·9 66·6 73·4 76·8 80·9 82·2 83·3 81·7 81·2 79·6 70·6 65·4 64·9 77·0 82·4 77·1 Chittagong Chittagong 191 Monthly Temp. 68·5 72·3 80·5 83·5 84·5 84·0 82·2 82·3 83·0 81·6 73·7 68·9 69·9 82·8 82·8 79·4 Darjeeling Darjeeling 6952 Monthly Temp. 42.2 43.8 52.0 58.7 62.1 63.7 64.9 64.4 63.0 57.3 49.4 44.7 43.5 57.6 64.3 58.4 Do. Max. 62·0 66·0 72·0 78·0 79·0 79·0 79·0 75·0 80·0 78·0 69·0 60·0 Do. Min. 32·0 28·0 39·0 48·0 48·0 57·0 58·0 59·0 57·0 44·0 38·0 33·0 Chota Nagpore Hazareebaugh 2010 Monthly Temp. 62.7 67.1 73.7 85.6 88.6 83.8 77.8 79.3 77.5 72.6 64.8 61.4 63.7 82.6 80.3 71.6 Do. Max. 82·0 91·0 94·0 107·0 100·0 103·0 89·0 88·0 87·0 84·0 78·0 76·0 Do. Min. 44·0 46·4 55·0 67·0 72·0 71·0 71·0 73·0 70·0 59·0 52·0 44·0 Neilgherries Ootacamund 7490 Monthly Temp. 51·5 52·8 57·3 60·1 60·8 57·9 55·8 56·1 56·4 55·9 53·9 51·9 52·1 59·4 56·6 55·4 N.B.—The letters in the columns, between December and the year, refer to months; thus, D. J. F. is December, January, February. The figures show the average temperature during those months. TABLE OF LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, AND RAINFALL OF TEA LOCALITIES. N.B.—The exact rainfalls of other Tea Districts not being known, I have confined myself to these; but general remarks on the rainfall in other Tea localities will be found elsewhere. Districts Place Latitude Longitude Details January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Assam Goalparah 26°11′ 90°36′ Average rain, several years 0·42 0·76 1·84 4·85 11·72 23·72 21·33 12·69 10·93 5·61 0·39 0·20 94·44 Days rain fell in 1869 2 2 4 8 19 24 22 18 15 5 Nil Nil 119 Gowhatty 26° 5′ 91°43′ Average rain, several years 0·70 1·43 1·48 7·27 10·92 13·29 13·08 11·98 6·82 3·20 0·47 0·12 70·76 Days rain fell in 1869 2 2 4 8 16 16 9 10 14 2 Nil 1 84 Seebsaugor 27° 2′ 94°39′ Average rain, several years 1·18 2·43 3·77 10·15 11·04 15·56 14·87 13·88 11·13 4·46 1·29 0·69 90·45 Days rain fell in 1869 11 9 10 13 22 13 19 23 17 8 Nil 2 147 Cachar Cachar 24°48′ 92°43′ Average rain, several years 0·50 3·53 6·09 12·69 16·12 19·55 24·58 16·84 13·90 7·77 7·03 0·79 123·3 Days rain fell in 1869 2 9 10 16 18 20 18 25 19 8 Nil Nil 145 Chittagong Chittagong 22°20′ 91°44′ Average rain, several years 0·37 1·62 1·31 5·46 9·42 22·92 22·54 23·04 13·01 5·93 2·30 0·55 108·47 Days rain fell in 1869 1 7 3 4 14 15 21 25 17 5 Nil 1 113 Hill Tracts ? ? Rain in 1869 Nil 1·90 1·50 12·55 9·00 12·50 18·20 14·30 12·70 5·70 Nil 0·50 88·85 [26] [27] [28] Days rain fell in 1869 Nil 4 4 7 13 16 22 19 19 4 Nil 1 109 Darjeeling Darjeeling 27° 3′ 88°18′ Average rain, several years 0·76 1·60 1·65 3·62 7·01 27·50 29·40 29·09 18·06 6·56 0·20 0·14 129·50 Days rain fell in 1869 2 3 5 9 17 23 26 22 24 7 1 2 148 Western Dooars[11] ? ? Rain in 1869 0·80 2·00 1·50 6·60 25·30 27·30 46·50 83·50 46·50 9·60 ? 2·40 252·00 Days rain fell in 1869 3 3 5 7 15 19 25 28 22 5 ? ? ? Chota Nagpore Hazareebaugh 24° 0′ 85°20′ Average rain, several years 0·42 0·52 0·75 0·42 1·37 10·99 14·63 11·44 6·26 3·51 0·19 0·02 50·52 Days rain fell in 1869 4 Nil 7 Nil 5 11 24 16 21 9 Nil 1 98 I will now endeavour to draw up a tabular statement of the respective advantages of the various Tea districts as regards climate, labour, lay of land, soil, facilities of procuring manure and transport. In importance I regard them in the order given. I place labour before soil, because the fact is, in all the provinces suitable and good soil for Tea can be found somewhere; and therefore, while soil is all important in selecting a site, it is secondary to labour in deciding on a district. Lay of land comes after labour. When my information on any point is not sure I place a note of interrogation. Where advantages are equal, or nearly so, I give the same number, and the greater the advantage of a district on the point t...