244 Mr R. Warrington on the 



for the black teas were always allowed to remain exposed to 

 the air in mass, for some time before they were roasted. Mr 

 Ball, in his valuable work* on the manufacture of tea, has 

 described in detail the whole routine of these interesting 

 processes, fully confirming my preconceived opinions, and of 

 which I cannot do better than give you a summary. Some 

 of the facts, I believe, had been published in Batavia in 1844, 

 by Mr Jacobson,t in the Dutch language. In the preface to 

 his work, Mr Ball says: " It will be seen, by dates inci- 

 dentally adverted to, that the facts and most of the materials 

 of this work, were established and collected thirty years 

 ago." — " These facts, as well as other materials, were de- 

 rived from conversation with growers and manipulators from 

 the tea districts ; from written documents furnished by the 

 Chinese ; from published works in the same language dili- 

 gently sought out; and also from correspondence with a 

 Spanish missionary long resident in the province of Fokun. 

 These were all put into their present form full twenty years 

 ago, and were read to one or two friends during my resi- 

 dence in China." — " They were not, however, so arranged, 

 with any view to immediate publication." — '' They were thus 

 disposed as the best mode of recording and keeping together 

 the facts and materials I had collected." — " But it was not 

 till the year 1844, when I received Mr Jacobson's Hand- 

 book on the cultivation of tea in Java, that I found my own 

 views so far confirmed, and my information such as to justify 

 me in bringing my labours to a close." 



The processes peculiar to the preparation of black tea, are 

 styled Leang-Ching, To-Ching, and Co-Ching, and these all 

 consist in carefully watched and regulated processes of spon- 

 taneous heating, or slow fermentation of the leaves, until a 

 certain degree of fragrance is developed. The leaves are 

 said to wither and give, and become soft and placid. The 

 utmost care, practical skill, and experience is required in 

 the properly conducting these operations, and as soon as 

 the proper point is arrived at, the leaves are to be imme- 



* An Account of the Cultivation and Manufacture of Tea in China. By 

 Samuel Ball, Esq. 



t Handbock v. d. Kull en Fahrik v. Thee. 



