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.Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund)
Science
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.
Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund)
Botany, Economic
I think that it is reasonable to expect quite as good tea to be
produced here as in Kumaon.[14] I have not tasted the Kumaon tea,
but, from the opinion expressed on it in England, I am satisfied
that it is a very drinkable beverage, and that with similar success
here, the tea will be a valuable addition to our products. I have
recently tried two kinds of the Assam tea presented by Mr. Stokes to
a friend. They are excellent teas, and I shall be well content to
have an equally good article manufactured here.
Mr. A. Macfarlane's report on the tea plants in Mr. Smith's ground is
annexed:--
"According to your request I have the pleasure of transmitting you
my opinion of the tea plants in your garden in this place. The two
larger plants have made very good progress, considering their
closeness to each other, which prevents them from throwing their
branches freely in every direction, but as they have attained so
great a size I would not recommend their being transplanted, because
let it be done ever so carefully, the roots must receive more or
less injury, and should the injury be great the death of the tree is
certain.
The smaller ones on the contrary are much stunted; this is caused by
their confined situation, being completely choked up by the rose
trees, which prevents their receiving a proper supply of light and
air, so necessary to vegetation. They are also planted too closely,
and, as the plants are still small, by availing yourself of the most
favourable season, and using great care in the operation, they might
he transplanted with safety, and should then be placed at a distance
of not less than six feet apart. The difficulty of transplanting is
occasioned by the depth to which the root penetrates, as it
generally grows downwards, and in a large tree is principally in the
subsoil. The larger plants should be pruned of their lower branches
to allow a free current of air. This operation is generally
performed in November, but any time during the cold season or before
the rains, while the plant is at rest, would answer: as I have no
knowledge of this climate, I would leave it to more experienced
persons to judge of the proper season. To conclude, the plants are
in a very healthy condition, and had they been in the hands of a
cultivator, would now have been giving a very fair supply of
produce.
The small sample I tried was of a very good flavor, but on account
of the defective manner of manufacture, for want of proper
materials, no proper judgment can be formed." (Simmonds's Col. Mag.,
vol. xvi. p. 44.)
Report upon the Tea Plantations of Deyra, Kumaon and Gurhwal, by
Robert Fortune, Esq., addressed to John Thornton, Esq., Secretary to
the Government, North Western Provinces, dated Calcutta, September
6th, 1851:--
KAOLAGIR TEA PLANTATION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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