254 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 18S3. 



remoWug at one operation a half leaf aud the shoot 

 cousistiug of two leaves aiul the bud. One simple 

 rule iu plucking is, to avoid having a bare shoot without 

 a single leaf to help it on. As in most things a practical 

 lesson is best iu plucking. As for the number of days 

 in which it is necessary to go round the garden, I learn 

 at a low elevation, it is considered necessary, according 

 to the time of year, to get round in 7 to 10, up to 12 

 days at the longest. At higli elevations, I have found in 

 my bt\<t months, I should get rouud in 10 to 12 days to 

 keep pace with my flush and, again, in 15, to, in the 

 very cold weather December to January, 20 days. I do not 

 think any hard aud fast rule should be laid down, at any 

 elevation, as to time. It is for the manager to watch his 

 flush, and wait on it, just long enough but no longer 

 and not to rush violently round his estate in a given 

 number of days, which mi'.st lead to over-plucking, which 

 means a reduction in yield sooner or later, although per- 

 haps higher prices, for the time being; the benefit of this 

 is also iua way nuUitied by a smaller outtiurn. 



My average runs this season, from in my worst month, 

 10 lb. up to 2y lb. of leaf per coolie, including children. 

 Some of my best pluckera liave brought in from 86 to 47 

 lb.; in ordinary months, I average from 20 to 26 lb. My 

 plucking last season l&i^ 1-82 cost 5 3-5ths cents per lb. of tea. 

 This season it will cost G cents. Leal should be weighed 

 in twice, daily, at miiUlay and at knocking off time ; it 

 is best plucked into the ordinary cooty -iack, and emptied 

 into cane or bamboo baskets of the following dimensions, 

 to avoid any chance of tight packing : — 2 feet high, 18 inches 

 across bottom, by 1 feet across top. Cane baskets cost 

 me 02 cents each, bumboo 25 cents to 37 c?nts, but cane 

 are the cheapest iu the long run, and nearer the cane 

 country tliau I am would probably run from 37 to 50 

 cents each. Leaf must not be pressed down in either 

 co'ty sack or basket. Each basket is best kept by its 

 owner in the line he is working in, the cooty sack should 

 be repeatedly emptied into it to avoid any risk of fer- 

 mentation. As soon a.s weighing in begins, leaf should 

 be removed without delaj" to the withering shelves. Both 

 baskets and cooty sacks should be taken in after the 

 last delivery, or the coolie may use them to carry bazaar 

 stuffs which may taint tlu'- leaf, and iu any case they 

 get smoked in his lines. Banc/}/ tips, if. a hardening of 

 the bud and stoppage of growth, should always 

 be plucked, if the single leaf of which it consists is soft, 

 it can be utilized, if not, it should be thrown away. It is 

 as well to take 1 he opportunity of any small plucking to 

 Dip off all bangy, the next eye will then nearly always 

 throw out a free running .shoot. 



WiTHERiKO. — The most simple and best shelves for this 

 are formed of a framework of reepers, covered with 

 sacking, — 6 feet long and '3 feet -1 inches wide, the reepers 

 forming this should be 2^ inches wide by 1 inch thick ; 

 it takes 1^ sacks to cover this or Jute-Hessian forms a good 

 cover. It is most convenient to have 12 of these shelves hang- 

 ing at 6 inches one above the other. The reeper form- 

 ing the front and back of the frame should project I5 

 inches ; these projections are rounded off. and at the back 

 are let into holes cut in an upright post to fit them ; in 

 front, the projecting ends seive to hold up the shelves by 

 fitting into knotted loops ti inches apart in ropes, sus- 

 pended from the roof. AVlieu it is desired to empty them, 

 it is done by simply pulling out the ropes at each end, 

 when the shelves hang flat down on their hinges, throw- 

 ing their contents on the floor; the upper shelves are 

 reached by the coolies who lay out the leaf to wither, 

 by '<i legged stouls ;.i foet high. Leaf should be spread 

 KB thin as posssiblc and turned over once during withering — a 

 sh^lf of above dimensions 6 feet vi 3 feet 4 inches, holds 

 ve-y thinly spread 2 lb, of leaf, or at a pinch it will 

 wi'lier safely up to 4 1b.. but not more. Say we put on 

 ;j lb. in full plucking time. We require about G feet per 

 lb. of leaf. 



Leaf is properly withered, if, when held tight in the hand 

 it does not crackie, and kec] s the shape into which you 

 have pressed it ; properly withered leaf is best told by touch, 

 which experience gives us after a time. Leafto give a good 

 make, that is twist and colour of infusion — copper colour — 

 should be well withered, soft to the touch, not dry or 

 crisp ; uudcrvvithered leaf will not give a malty liquor, aud 

 the larger leaves (souchong) break in rolling, probably lessen* 



iug the value of your broken pekoe, uor is the make so 

 good as with well-withered leaf. 



Rolling. — Rather overdo this than underroll ; when leaf 

 is properly rolled, it shows a good even twist, is very soft, 

 and guiruny to the touch, any liquor that exudes during 

 the process of rolling should be mopped up by the leaf, 

 now called roll. In hand-rolling it saves tip, if, when the 

 rolling is half finished, the leaf is sifted thi'ough a No. 4, 

 that which remains in the sieve is rolled separately, that 

 which comes through liyhtly finislied oft". A man can take 

 2 lb. of withered leaf to roll at one time, and it takes him 

 20 minutes to finish it. 



Fermentation. — After your leaf is sufficiently rolled, break 

 up the roll well, so as to have no lumps in it and place 

 it lightly in saucer-shaped baskets of bamboo, or cane 18 

 niches wide by Q inches deep ; these again to be placed 

 inside a sack to ferment. Jlach basket holds about 12 lb, 

 of roll — no actual time can be laid down for fermentation, 

 as it all depends upon the day or time of year. In cold wea- 

 ther at 5,GO0 feet, I have waited for (5h hours for it to 

 ferment, although my house has been kept at 90^. Again, 

 at low elevations, I have seen roll proijerly fermented in 

 20 minutes from rolling. As far as time is concerned, at 

 high elevations in ordinary weather, I find it; takes from 

 1^ to 3 hours. Machine-rolled ferments quicker than hand, 

 an advantage ia favor of machine. Roll is properly fer- 

 mented when it shuws at a first glance a bright new copper 

 color. AVe must not in making this test, examine the roll too 

 carefully as, if we do, we will find ahnost as many green 

 as copper-colored leaves; the J'ir:^t glance on taking uj) a 

 handful must decide us. As a rule, we sliould ferment up 

 to our pekoe-souchong and let the rest take care of itself, if 

 in doubt, uuderfermeut rather than overferment: over fermen- 

 tation may cause the tea to be altogether sour, and in any 

 case gives a dark-colored flat liquor, with dark dead-looking 

 infusion. 



For the first two or three rounds after pruning, our leaf 

 will not give us a very bright infusion, and there is no use 

 waiting on the fermentation to try and get it ; ail comes 

 right as the wood matures. 



Having arrived at a proper state of fermentation 

 we should haud-roll lightly again, even if machinery is used. 

 Coolies employed in the factory, firing, withering, &c., &c., 

 are sufficient to do this. It is necessary, as it inclines the 

 roll, opened more or less by fermentation, to take its twist 

 again as it is being fired, and it also ensures the whole be- 

 ing thoroughly well separated, before being placed ia the 

 firing trays. 



In Firing. — Over-charcoal the bottom of the tray which 

 is covered with 24 to 26 brass mesh should be 21 inches 

 from the firegrate which is again 9 inches above the level 

 of the floor, or the stoves are from the level of the floor 

 to the top 30 inches high, 3 feet wide, at the top inside 

 measurement, sloping to 1 ft. 2 inches at the grate, which 

 rests on ledges 1 iuch wide, making below grate to floor 

 level 1 ft. wide. It takes 40 minutes to complete the firing 

 of each tray of roll, as thus : — 



Each tray 3 feet square inside measurement will hold 5 

 lb. of roll, wdiich when fired equals about 2 lb. of tea. 

 The tray should be constantly removed from the stove, 

 aud the contents well turned {on no account should any 

 tm'ning or fingering be allowed when the tray is over the 

 fire, as -Just drops through, bmus. and smukes the tea 

 at once) after about 15 minutes drying, being constantly 

 turned the while, the partially fired roll should be sifted 

 through a No. 8 sieve ; that, which remains in the sieve is 

 again placed over the stoves, being as before constantly 

 taken off and turned, and in 15 minutes is ready to be 

 again sifted ihis time through a No, 6. It then takes 10 

 minutes to finish oft', being constantly turned the while 

 The siftings are left on the table till all teas are finished 

 firing: these represent broken teas, broken pekoe, pekoe 

 Ko. 2, and dust ; aud are finished otT over the hot stoves 

 by the expiring fires — this takes about 10 minutes. Ex- 

 perience alone can tell us when teas are properly fired, they 

 should feel crisp to the touch, aud when bent resume their 

 shape. As each trav is fired off, the tea should be put 

 into a bin. for the purpose, and exposed on the tables as 

 little as possible. 



TASTiNo.~-The first thing the next morning as sorting 

 begins, the ** make '' of the prei'ions day or night should be 

 ilifiwgii and tasted careftilly ; we theu know what to de 



