rich, black, vegetable mould. The soil
in the Deyrah Dhoon varies exceedingly from clayey and stiff soil to
sand and gravelly soil, or light and free. The soil at Kaolagir is a
compound of the two, neither clayey, nor free, nor light soil, but
composed partly of clay and sand, mixed with vegetable mould, and in
some places mixed with much gravel, consisting of limestone, marl,
sandstone, clay slate, and quartz rock, or of such rocks as enter
into the composition of the surrounding ranges of mountains, viz.,
the Sewalick range to the south, and the Himalayas, properly so
called, to the north, From the above statement, we find that the
tea-plant thrives well both in stiff and free soils, and in many
modifications of these. But the soil which seems best adapted to its
growth may be styled free soil, as at Russiah, or a mixture of both,
as at Kaolagir, in the Deyrah Dhoon.

In limestone districts, where the tea has been tried, if the
super-imposed soil has been thin and untransported, and this proved
from the decomposition of the subjacent rock, the plant has
generally failed; and this has been particularly the case where the
limestone, by plutonic action, has become metamorphic. These
districts, therefore, in forming plantations, are to be avoided.

From the writings of various authors, it appears that the districts
where the tea-plant thrives best in China, have a geological
structure very similar to that met with in many parts of the
Himalayas, being composed of primitive and transition rocks.

_Altitude above the sea best suited to the tea plant_.--To state
what altitude is best adapted to the growth of the tea-plant, and
for the production of the best kinds of tea, will require much more
observation. At present the tea-plant thrives equally well at
Kaolagir, in the Deyrah Dhoon; at Russiah, in the Chikata district;
at Huwalbaugh; at Kuppeena and Lutchmisser; and at Rumaserai, or at
heights ranging from 2,200 feet above the level of the sea to 6,000
feet.

Moreover, the tea manufactured from leaves procured from Kaolagir,
has been considered by the London brokers equal to that made from
leaves procured from Lutchmisser and Kuppeena.

_On the method of preparing ground prior to forming a
plantation_.--In forming a plantation, the first object of
attention, both in the h