The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom / Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.

by P. L. Simmonds

On the method of sowing seeds, and season, and on the treatment of the young tea plants after they have germinated.—The ground having been first well trenched and manured, that is, from sixty to seventy maunds of manure given to the acre, the seeds are, when ripe, to be removed from the capsules, and immediately sown to the depth of one inch, and very close, in drills 8 to 10 inches apart from each other. The sooner that they are sown after being removed from the capsules the better, as their germinating properties are apt to be destroyed if they are kept for any length of time. Some germinate in the space of a few weeks, others lie dormant until February and March, and others do not germinate until the rains.

The method of sowing seeds in China is thus described, being similar to the native plan of sowing mangoes in India. "Several seeds are dropped into holes four or five inches deep and three or four feet apart, shortly after they ripen, or in November and December; the plants rise up in a cluster when the rains come on. They are seldom transplanted, but sometimes four to six are put quite close to form a fine bush."[9] By this method nothing is gained, and the expenditure of seeds great.

If the plants germinate in November, which, as already stated, many do, they ought to be covered with a chupper made of bamboo and grass.

In the hills, everywhere at an elevation of 6,000 and 7,000 feet, the ringal, a small kind of bamboo, of which there are several species, is found in great abundance, and well adapted for the purpose, and in the Deyrah Dhoon the bamboo occurs in vast quantity; the market of the Upper Provinces being chiefly supplied from that valley and other forests at the base of the Himalayas. Bamboos are also met with to the height of six and seven thousand feet on the Himalayas in the neighbourhood of Almorah. During the day, in the cold weather, the chuppers ought to be removed, and again replaced at night; as the weather becomes hot, it is necessary to protect the young plants from the heat of the sun, that is, in April and May, and until the rains commence; the chuppers at this time ought to be put on about eight a.m., and removed again about four p.m.

Method of rearing plantations by layers, and by cuttings.—The best season for laying down is when the sap is dormant, or in cold weather; or when in full action, as in the rains. "Laying," as expressed by Dr. Lindley, "is nothing but striking from cuttings, which are still allowed to maintain their connection with the mother plant by means of a portion of their stem." There are various methods of making layers, but the most simple and efficient is to bend down a branch, and sink it into the earth after having made a slit or notch in the centre of the embedded portion. By so doing, the descent of the sap is retarded, and thus the formation of radicles or young roots is promoted; about five or six inches or more, of the branch, is to be allowed to remain above ground, and in a position as perpendicular to the point where the plant is notched as possible. In three or four mouths these layers are ready to be removed and transplanted; the removal of the layers is to be gradual, that is, they ought first to be cut half through, then a little more, and finally altogether separated.

The best season for propagating by cuttings is the cold weather, that is, from November to February; they may also be propagated, though not with the same success, during the rains; it is necessary to protect them against frost in the cold weather, and from the rays of the sun in the hot. Cuttings put in during the cold weather are ready to transplant in the rains, and if put in during the rains, they are generally fit for removal in February.

On the method of transplanting and season.—In transplanting young tea-plants care should be taken to lift them with a good large ball of earth attached to their roots, as they throw out a long central or tap root, which, if cut through, invariably destroys the plant. On being placed in the ground, the earth around them is to be well pressed down and watered; the watering is to be continued every third or fourth day, until the plants have taken hold of the ground. During the rains, grass springs up with great rapidity, so as to render it impossible for one man to keep three acres (the quantity assigned by us) clean. This, however, is not necessary, if care be taken to make a golah round each plant, and keep it clear of weeds; these golahs ought always, in hill plantations where the ground is irregular, to be connected by small khauls or channels, in order to make irrigation easy; by so doing too, water, if the supply be scanty, which often happens in the hills in the hot weather, will be economised.

We have already stated that 4½ square feet ought to be assigned to each plant. In China, according to Professor Royle, three to four feet are given; this, however, is too small a space to allow the plant to grow freely. After the tea plants are transplanted, it is not necessary to protect them.

The best seasons for transplanting are towards the end of February, or as soon as the frost has ceased, and throughout March, and during the rains, and until the end or middle of November, depending on the season.