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great tea countries which I visited. On asking the Chinese manu- facturers whom I brought round, and who had been born and brought up in these districts, whether they had seen such a practice, they all replied, "no, that is the way we grow rice; we Indeed I have no hesitation in saying that, never irrigate tea." in nine cases out of ten, the effects of irrigation are most injurious. When tea will not grow without irrigation, it is a sure sign that the It is no doubt an land employed is not suitable for such a crop. excellent thing to have a command of water in case of a long drought, when its agency might be useful in saving a crop which would otherwise fail; but irrigation ought to be used only in such emergent cases.
I have already observed that good tea-land is naturally moist, although not stagnant; and we must bear in mind that the tea-shrub is not a water plant, but is found in a wild state on the sides of hills. In confirmation of these views, it is only necessary to observe further, that all the best Himalayan plantations are those to which irrigation has been most sparingly applied.
In cultivating the tea-shrub much injury is often done to a plantation by plucking leaves from very young plants. In China young plants are never touched until the third or fourth year after they have been planted. If growing under favourable circumstances, All that ought to be they will yield a good crop after that time, done, in the way of plucking or pruning before that time, should be done with a view to form the plants, and make them bushy, if they do not grow so naturally. If plucking is commenced too early and continued, the energies of the plants are weakened, they are long in attaining any size, and consequently there is a great loss of produce in a given number of years. To make this more plain, I will suppose a bush that has been properly treated, to be eight years of age. It may then be yielding from two to three pounds of tea per annum, while another of the same age, but not a quarter of the size, from over-plucking, is not giving more than as
many ounces.
The same remarks apply also to plants which become unhealthy from any cause; leaves ought never to be taken from such plants; the gatherers should have strict orders to pass them over until they get again into a good state of health.
2. On Climate. I have already stated that Eastern Gurhwal and Kumaon appear to me to be the most suitable for the cultivation of the tea-plant in this part of the Himalayas. My remarks upon climate will therefore refer to this part of the country.
From a table of temperature, kept at Hawulbaugh from Novem- ber 28, 1850, to July 13, 1851, obligingly furnished me by Dr. Jameson, I observe that the climate here is extremely mild. Dur-
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ing the winter months, the thermometer (Fahr.) at sunrise was never lower than 44°, and only on two occasions so low, namely, on the 15th and 16th of February, 1851. Once it stood so high as 66° on the morning of February the 4th, but this is full ten degrees higher than usual. The minimum in February must, how- ever, be several degrees lower than is shown by this table, for ice and snow are not unfrequent; indeed, opposite the 16th of February in the column of remarks, I find written down a very frosty morn- ing. This discrepancy no doubt arises either from a bad thermo- meter being used, or from its being placed in a sheltered verandah. We may therefore safely mark the minimum as 32°, instead of 44°.
The month of June appears to be the hottest in the year. observe the thermometer on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of that month I stood at 92o at 3 P.M.; and this was the highest degree marked during the year. The lowest, at this hour, during the month was 76°; but the general range in the 3 P.M. column of the table is from 80° to 90°.
The wet and dry seasons are not so decided in the hills as they are in the plains. In January 1851, it rained on five days and ten nights, and the total quantity of rain which fell, as indicated by the rain-guage, during this month was 5'25 inches; in February 3.84 fell; in March 2-11; in April 2-24; in May none; and in June 6'13. In June there are generally some days of heavy rain, called by the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains, after this there is an interval of some days of dry weather before the regular "rainy season commences. This season comes on in July and continues until September. October and November are said to be beautiful months, with a clear atmosphere and cloudless sky. After this fogs are frequent in all the valleys until spring.
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In comparing the climate of these provinces with that of China, although we find some important difference, yet upon the whole there is a great similarity. My comparisons apply, of course, to the best tea districts only, for although the tea-shrub is found culti- vated from Canton in the south, to Tan-chow-poo in Shan-tung, yet the provinces of Fokein, Kiansee and the southern parts of Kiangnan, yield nearly all the finest teas of commerce.
The town of Tsong-gan, one of the great black tea towns near the far-famed Woo-e-shan, is situated in latitude 27° 47′ north. Here the thermometer in the hottest months, namely, in July and August, rarely rises above 100°, and ranges from 929 to 100° as maximum; while in the coldest months, December and January, it sinks to the freezing point and sometimes a few degrees lower. We have thus a close resemblance in temperature between Woo-e-shan
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