Tea Gardens

Here more important than any other crop is tea. Assam grows most of the tea in the country. Over a hundred years ago, tea plants were brought from China. These plants grew well and in a short time many tea gardens were set up on the plains and the lower parts of the hills. Each tea-garden or estate has thousands and thousands of tea bushes. When small, the bushes are planted in rows about one and a half meters apart. The bushes are pruned each year. They are not allowed to grow more than one meter in height. Scattered trees grow in the gardens. They give shade to the tea bushes. Women pluck the fresh, small leaves from the tip of each stem. The leaves are weighed and taken to the factory in the tea-estate. There the leaves are dried and crushed and packed into boxes for sale.

The warm damp climate helps plats to grow quickly. Hundreds of years ago, most of the state was covered by thick jungles of bamboo and teak. Today large areas of the jungles have been cleared to make fields. The forests are now found mainly in the mountains. In these forests live many kinds of wild animals -elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, panther leopards, monkey, deer and others.

Most of the people of Assam are farmers. Close to the river many important crops are grown. These are rice, jute, tobacco, sugar-cane, cotton and pineapple.

The climate of Assam is quite different from other parts of the country you have already learnt about. The summers are very warm and the winters are cool. But the rainy season is long. It lasts from about April to November. The heavy rain causes the rivers to rise. This brings floods each year.

The state is rich in mineral oil. From this oil, we get petrol and kerosene.

The state of Assam lies in the north-eastern part of our country. It flows through the broad Brahmaputra River. On either side of the river are gentle plains. Father from the river is mountain ranges. The Himalayas lie to the north. There are lower hills to the east and south.

The Brahmaputra River is also used for transport. People go from one place to another by boats and steamers. Steamships sail with tea and jute. At Guwahati there is a bridge across the Brahmaputra River. This is the largest and most important bridge in the state.

Dispur is the capital of Assam. Guwahati, on the Brahmaputra, is the most important city. A railway line joins it to Kolkata.