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 treated in the column the smaller the number. Thus, under the head of Climate, Assam is marked 1.
As the following table gives no information as to which of all the districts possesses the greatest advantages, all things considered, but only gives my opinion of each under each head, and the subject closed in this way would be unsatisfactory, I may state that, in my opinion, the choice should lie between the three first and the last on the list; and my choice would be the last.
Comparative advantages of the Tea Districts in India as regards climate, labour, lay of land, soil, manure, and transport.
| Tea Districts | Climate | Labour | Lay of Land | Soil | Manure | Transport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assam | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Water carriage |
| Cachar | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Chittagong | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Chittagong Hill Tracts | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Terai below Darjeeling | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Land carriage |
| Darjeeling | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| Hazareebaugh | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Kangra | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
| Dehra Dhoon | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |
| Kumaon | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| Neilgherries | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Western Dooars | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
[CHAPTER IV.]
SOIL.
To pronounce as precisely on soil as to climate is not easy. The Tea plant will grow on almost any soil, and will flourish on many. Still there are broad general rules to be laid down in the selection of soils for Tea, which no one can ignore with impunity.
When first I turned my attention to Tea, I collected soils from many gardens, noting in each case how the plants flourished. I then sat down to examine them, never doubting to arrive at some broad practical conclusions. I was sadly disappointed. I found the most opposing soils nourished, apparently, equally good plants. I knew not then much about Tea, and judged of the Tea bushes mostly by the size (a very fallacious test); still, after-experience has convinced me I was more or less right in the conclusion I then came to, that several soils are good for Tea.
Nothing, then, but broad general rules can be laid down on this point, for I defy anyone to select any one soil as the best for Tea, to the exclusion of others.