In the table it will be observed there is a great difference between the two years. The section for which the dates are given was planted from seed beds in the month of June, 1866. In 1869 it was therefore only three years old. This will partly account for the first flush occurring a month earlier in 1870, as it was then a year older; but fortunate early rains in 1870 had also much to do with it.
--------+-------------+----------+-------------+------------- | 1869 | Interval | 1870 | Interval Flushes +-------------+ in days +-------------+ in days | Dates | | Dates | --------+-------------+----------+-------------+------------- 1 | March 22 | .. | February 22 | .. 2 | May 6 | 44 | March 30 | 35 3 | „ 29 | 23 | April 13 | 10 4 | June 11 | 12 | „ 25 | 12 5 | „ 23 | 12 | May 5 | 9 6 | July 5 | 11 | „ 14 | 9 7 | „ 17 | 12 | „ 25 | 11 8 | „ 31 | 14 | June 4 | 9 9 | August 10 | 9 | „ 12 | 8 10 | „ 21 | 11 | „ 22 | 10 11 | Sept. 2 | 11 | July 1 | 8 12 | „ 12 | 10 | „ 8 | 7 13 | „ 25 | 13 | „ 16 | 8 14 | October 9 | 13 | „ 25 | 9 15 | „ 22 | 13 | August 2 | 7 16 | Nov. 2 | 10 | „ 11 | 9 17 | „ 11 | 9 | „ 21 | 10 18 | „ 19 | 8 | „ 29 | 8 19 | Dec. 4 | 14 | Sept 7 | 8 20 | .. | .. | „ 18 | 11 21 | .. | .. | „ 27 | 9 22 | .. | .. | October 5 | 7 --------+-------------+----------+-------------+------------- Average intervals | Nearly 14| |Very little between Flushes. | days. | .. |over 10 days. ----------------------+----------+-------------+-------------
In 1869 there was no flush between March 22nd and May 6th, a period of 44 days; and in 1870, none between February 22nd and March 30th, a period of 35 days, a very long time in both cases, which is entirely accounted for by the dry weather prevailing at Chittagong in the spring (see under head of Climate), for in Cachar, Assam, and the Western Dooars two or three flushes would have occurred in that time.
There were 19 flushes in all in 1869, and 22 in 1870, up to the time I wrote, so there were probably in all 27 in the latter year.
In the table I give the intervals between each flush. It shows an average of 14 days in 1869 to 10 days in 1870; the difference is due to the increased age of the plants, and the liberal manuring given in the cold weather 1869-70.