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.