the establishment of a company to develop the resources of these
hills, as in Assam, I would strongly urge the propriety of
concentrating, as much as possible, the various plantations. Sites
ought to be chosen which are not too far apart, easy of access, and,
if possible, near rivers; for, no doubt, a considerable portion of
the produce would have to be conveyed to the plains or to a
sea-port.

In my tour amongst the hills, I have seen no place so well adapted
for a central situation as Almorah, or Hawulbaugh. Here the
government has already a large establishment, and tea lands are
abundant in all directions. The climate is healthy, and better
suited to a European constitution than most other parts of India.
Here plants from nearly all the temperate parts of the world are
growing as if they were at home. As examples, I may mention myrtles,
pomegranates, and tuberoses from the south of Europe; dahlias,
potatoes, aloes, and yuccas from America; Melianthus major and bulbs
from the Cape; the cypress and deodar of the Himalayas, and the
lagerstroemias, loquats, roses and tea of China.

In these days, when tea has become almost a necessary of life to
England and her wide-spreading colonies, its production upon a large
and cheap scale is an object of no ordinary importance. But to the
natives of India themselves, the production of this article would be
of the greatest value. The poor _paharie_, or hill farmer, at
present has scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly
none of its luxuries. The common sorts of grain which his lands
produce will scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market town,
far less yield a profit of such a kind as will enable him to
purchase some few of the necessary and simple luxuries of life. A
common blanket has to serve him for his covering by day and for his
bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, capable of
affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather.
Were part of these lands producing tea, he would then have a healthy
beverage to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value
in the market. Being of small bulk compared with its value, the
expense of carriage would be trifling, and he would return home with
the means in his pocket of making himself and his family more
comfortable and more happy.