The cultivation of Tea in Kumaon has become so important and profitable, that it is interesting to trace the early history of this industry; and the duty of placing on record as true an account as possible of its introduction, rise and progress, is one which ought not to be neglected by those who are acquainted with the real facts; yet, after all, there is not very much to be told, even by those in full possession of all the data, when they show that, in this case—belonging, as it does, in an especial manner, to the best interests of British India—the seed of the sower “fell upon good ground, and yielded fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty.”