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THE rmpiQhh AQntQVLTt3nmt, 



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THE DETEEIOEATION OF TEA. 



SiB. — The question of the causes of deterioration 

 of Ce3lon tea must always be a very important one 

 to planters, and one which cannot be investigated too 

 thoroughly. Evidence now appears to be forthcoming 

 to show that it is no mere cry of the London dealer 

 in the usual depreciatory manner of the buyer. I 

 have now been more or less a tea-maker for the past 

 four years, having had varied experience during that 

 time, and think I can account for the falling-off in 

 strength, this being the chief cause of complaint. 



To those who have not fully investigated the 

 growth of plants it is usual to believe that the leaves 

 simply act the part of the lungs, and that their 

 various other economies are performed chieriy by 

 other organs, such as the brnnches, trunk, and roots. 

 Now. the life of a tree is first its leaves, and then its 

 roots. The terminations of the latter, called spongi- 

 oleSj have almost an equal importance, being rather 

 more to a plant than the mouth of an animal, as they 

 have some potent affinity for the nonrishment they 

 assimilate. The roots of some plants can penetrate 

 tolerably hard rocks — the olive ; for instance — and 

 anyone who has had much experience of manuring 

 with coarse bone-pieces will frequcnth' have observed 

 the facility with which even a coffee-root can pierce 

 through a hard, flat piece of bone. 



The leaves are, however, of really more importance; 

 not onlj' do they inhale and exhale, but they elabor- 

 ate the sap. Thus, besides being lungs, they are the 

 chief digestive organs of the x^lant. It may be said 

 that whatever good comes out of the tea plant, 

 whether in shoots or seed, is the result of the elabor- 

 ation of the sap in the leaf cells, and this elabor- 

 ation progresses more or less perfectly according to 

 the health and vigour of the tree. In a throughly 

 heathy individual, the foliage will be moi-e or less 

 profuse, and, where it is scant or unhealthy, there 

 will also be a corresponding failm-e of the sap, which 

 naturally will fall off in either quantity, or quality, 

 or both. In this it will be very like a much vexed 

 matter of domestic economy — our milch cow. "We 

 * all know how difficult it is to get our quantum of 

 good milk, and the sooner we apprehend tlie position 

 that abundance of milk usually means an abun- 

 dance of good food, so much sooner do we beneQt 

 by c.irrying out the principle. 



The first external indication we have of a tree 

 being unhealthy is its foUage, and immediately after- 

 wards there will always be a corresponding uuhealthi- 

 ness in the roots. Indeed, the injury is felt through- 

 out the whole organism. As with animals, some kind 

 of plants have a greater recuperative power than 

 others. We say of a cat that it has nine lives. 

 Our experience also shews us how difficult weeds 

 arc to kill; yet I fancy if we grew a weed as a 

 culivated plant, and continually deprived it of its 

 leaves and young shoots which have very much the 

 same function as the leaves, it will soon indicate all 

 the delicacy of a cultivated plant, and if we continued 

 our harsh treatment over a period of years it would 

 probably develop a disease injurious to all individuals 

 of its race, and in this manner might become a very 

 delicate plant to grow. 



Tea is one of the most robubt plants in the vegetable 

 kingdom. It will not die out in scrub and v/eeds. 

 If cut dowH; it shoots up with great vigour ; its 

 recuperative powers are prodigious. If growing 

 amongst grass, the latter may be fired, and the tea 

 will all eboot out afre.sh. 



It is, however, apparent to all that, after tea 

 bushes have been cut down, the first ohoots, when 

 manufactiured, produce a very thin infusion, ;!nd I 

 would ask whether this may not be owing to stantly 

 foliage. As I have said, the tea plant has a strong, 

 vitality, it bursts out into renewed life with all 

 apparent vigour, but does not this shew tliat it is 

 abnormal and that something is wanting i* Most 

 certainly there must be a great shock to the plant 

 throughout its entire system ; sometimes we notice 

 here and there a bush which does not recover. 



There is much importance to be attached to what 

 Mr. Kutberford asserted iu bis letter; tbat where I 



tea bore well, :::r.miring -would be necessary. Of 

 course, where soil i.s rich with manure applied, the 

 mean.s of rapid recovery are easier for the plant; 

 yet all considered, even allowing the most valuable 

 constituents of the soil to be present in almost any 

 quantity, the foliage of the plant must to an extent be 

 maintained. Leaf-disease shows how absolutely neces- 

 sary leaves are to cotfee ; so it is with tea. 



I consider, whatever task you put upon a perennial 

 tree or plant, whether it be in yielding seed or leaf- 

 that there must be an adequate foliage to perform 

 the economies ueces.sary for the effectual production 

 of this leaf or .seed ; that, if the foliage be insufficient, 

 the produce will naturally be wanting, and 1 believe 

 this has more to do with the falUng off of the 

 strength of Ceylon tea than any other cause I know. 

 The Israelites found it hard to make bricks without 

 straw ; an animal would not survive being deprived 

 of the whole of its lungs and the greater portion 

 of its organs of digestion ; yet we expect a tea 

 plant to live, thrive, and yield us leaf shorn of both 

 of these. The only wonder to me is, why does not 

 strike, work altogether, collapse and die, or cease to 

 be productive, like our coffee. Unless we are more 

 lenient to it this may eventually result. 



There is without doubt much in the manure theory, 

 but I believe far more in our treatment of the or- 

 ganism itself, the first consideration. As far as my 

 experience goes, I have never obtained good tea except 

 from good foliaged bushes, and I believe before long 

 we shall see much lighter pruning adopted through- 

 out the island, or, possibly two light instead of one 

 heavy pruning in the twelve months. — W. F. L. — 

 Local "Times." 



No. II. 



iSiH, — With regard to the alleged deterioration of 

 Ceylon teas, allow me, in the spirit that in the multi- 

 tude of counsellors there is wisdom, to make the 

 following remarks. To say the least of it, it is pecu- 

 liar tbat every new field's teas, on introduction, have 

 attracted considerable attention, and produced the 

 highest prices in their early start. Few, however, 

 have been able to retain this favourable position for 

 more than a season. Indian planters remember this 

 was the case with the Dooars gardens, for, when their 

 teas came in limited quantity, buyers seemed to de- 

 sire nothing else than the strongest liquors for which 

 they are so noted. Planters iu Darjeeling, the Terai, 

 Oachar, 8ylhct, and, lastly Assam, were furnished 

 with Dooars samples as guide.**. Every one setting 

 to work to produce the requisite article — some vain 

 enough to imagine they had succeeded — were sur- 

 prized to find that the success attained in the Dooars 

 only lasted a season, for the following year Darjee- 

 lings were required for flavor only. Most then 

 attempted to give their teas Darjeeling character. 

 Few arrived at this happy climax, when, in the next 

 season, Assams were iu demand, and their selling 

 price above all others. 



The majority of Indian planters now recognize that 

 the market is always capricious, Some usually get 

 good prices, and all, especially at the commencement 

 of tho season, strive by the most careful plucking 

 and manufacture to force their mark into position. 



Truly, there is every excuse for many Ceylon men 

 believing that this season's teas are so inferior simply 

 because fetching pence below last j'ear's average, and 

 doubtleas will attribute it to every cau-c but the 

 right — prices have gone down. What has been ap- 

 parent to all outside of the island for so long is a 

 fact, namely, quite fancy pvicen i"eve being paid Joy 

 Cei/lon parcelif. 



When things settle down at home, probably these 

 teas will regain favor ; but that they will speedily 

 reach the enormous figures paid when the supply was 

 uncertain, the large acreage coming into bearing in 

 the near future should forbid the most sanguine to 

 expect. 



In the meanwhile, the hints dropped by Mr. Gow 

 regarding the bushes having a browsed and broom- 

 like appearance, and being consequently incapable of 

 putting forth shoots (dushiug) suitable for raakiug^ 



