Читать книгу The Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea - Edward Money - Страница 14

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This, too, I have seen since I published the first edition of this Essay. The elevation of the station, 6,900 feet, is far too great; but plantations lower down do tolerably well (that is, well for hill gardens). The climate, like all hill climates, is too cold. As regards transport the Darjeeling plantations will be well situated when the railroad now constructing is finished. Like elevations in Darjeeling and Kumaon are in favour of the former, first, because the latitude is less; secondly, because Darjeeling has much more rain in the spring. I believe, therefore, that the hill plantations of Darjeeling have a better chance of paying than the gardens in Kumaon, but, as stated before, no elevated gardens, that is, none in the Himalayas, have any chance in the race against plantations in the plains, always providing the latter are in a good Tea climate.

In two respects, however, Darjeeling is behind Kumaon. The soil is not so good, and the land is much steeper. It is more than absurd, some of the steeps on which Tea is planted in the former; and such precipices can, I am sure, never pay. Gardens, barely removed above the Terai (and there are such in Darjeeling), can scarcely be called “elevated,” and for them the remarks applied to the Terai are more fitting. As a broad rule it should be recognised that the lower Tea is planted in the Himalayas the better chance it has.

All the plants in the Darjeeling gardens, with but few exceptions, are China.

The China plant makes by far the best Green Tea, and I believe the Darjeeling gardens would pay much better than they do if they altered their manufacture from black to green. (See further on, under the head of Hazareebaugh, what has been done in this way.) All Himalayan gardens should, in my opinion, make Green Tea (Kumaon has awoke to the fact), for all have China plants, and can therefore make far better Green Tea than can be produced from the Hybrid which is so general in plain gardens.[9]