68 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1884. 



at K.ew, and from Government officers and other gentle- 

 men both in India and other countries. Among the 

 chief contributors were Mr. Kunstler, Mr. Gamble, Mr. 

 Talbot, Dr. Sehlich, Mr. Duthie, Dr. Trimen, Mr. Levinge, 

 Mr. Ford, Dr. Cooke, Mr. Hallett, Mr. Maries, Mr. Clarke, 

 Mr. Woodroiv, Mr. Hildebrand and Dr. Hay. The inter- 

 change of seeds and plants went on actively during the 

 year. Twenty-three thousand eight hundred and nine 

 living plants and 3,716 packets of seeds were distributed, 

 the principal recipients being, as usual, Station Com- 

 mittees. Cantonment Magistrates, and Superintendents, 

 of hospitals and jails. A considerable number of plants 

 was also sent to the International Exhibition in 

 Calcutta. On the other hand, 9,179 plants and 1,038 

 packets of seeds were presented to the Garden by 

 various contributors. The receipts from the sale of 

 surplus plants amounted to El, 345-1 1-9, while the whole 

 of the budget allotment of R70.350 was spent For 

 the third year in succession, the Lloyd Botanical Garden 

 at Darjeeling suffered from the ravages of the cock- 

 chafer grub. Specimens of this grub and of the beetle 

 into which it develops have been sent to a specialist 

 iu London for identification and report but no answer 

 has yet been received. Dr. King's proposal to suspend 

 all distribution of living plants from the Garden in 

 case the grub shows itself again this year, commends 

 itself to the Lieutenant-Governor. A similar grub, it 

 is stated, has proved very destructive in Ceylon to 

 coffee planting in palana or grass land. Fortunately 

 the Darjeeling grub has not as yet displayed any parti- 

 ality for tea. The Lieutenant Governor desires to 

 acknowledge the excellent work done by Dr. King and 

 his subordinates during the past year. — Madras Weekly 

 Mail June 14th. 



THE GLENDALE TEA ESTATE, COONOOR. 



Mr. Thomas Stanes, so well-kuown on the Neilgher- 

 ries, having invited a large party of friends to spend 

 a day at " Glendale," I was fortunate enough to make 

 one of the party which assembled there on Friday 

 last (16th June.) Leaving Coonoor about 9 a.m., we 

 drove some two miles down the New Ghaut road and 

 then turned sharp off to the right in the direction of 

 Katari. After a hilly drive of a mile and a half we 

 reached the foot of a small, but somewhat precipit- 

 ous hill, on which stands the "Glendale" Tea factory 

 and the manager's (Mr. Brown's) bungalow. On 

 arrival we received a hearty welcome from Mr. Stanes, 

 and plunged at once into the mysteries of the prepara- 

 tion of the tea leaf for the market. On the 

 " Glendale " estate there are three classes of tea trees, 

 the China, the Assam, and a hybrid. Of these the 

 China bush is grown from seed, imported some years 

 ago by Government. The Assam tree is by far the 

 best producer. It is found at "Glendale" that this 

 tree produces one pound of leaves annually or twice 

 as much as the China bush. To make the hest kinds 

 of tea two leaves and a bud are plucked off a suc- 

 culent green shoot, called the "flush." When the 

 coolie women (clii* fly from the Salem and Coimbatore 

 districts) have filled their baskets with the leaves, 

 they cover them up to protect them from the rays 

 of the sun, and bring them into the factory twice a 

 day. As soon as the women arrive the contents of 

 each basket are carefully weighed. This over, the 

 leaves are subj cted to what may be called the first 

 process — that of " withering." There is a special room 

 called the "withering house." In this the leaves are 

 placed oa shelves uutJ they are withered, or limp, 

 Tuis process is necessary to prevent them from break- 

 ing when subjected to the next process, that of 

 rolling. To the rolling room we were in due course 

 taken. Here a Jackson's pat-ut tea rolling machine, 

 driven by a turbine, was in full swing. This machine 

 has a very peculiar motion, best described perhaps 



as that of the human arm in a bent position drawn 

 rapidly and constantly towards the body. Before the 

 introduction of this machine the leaves use'! to be 

 rolled by hand on tables, apparently not at all a 

 clean process. By this one machine the work which 

 it formerly took eight men to do is accomplished in 

 far lees time. The main object of the rolling is to 

 expnss he juice from, and as the same time to curl 

 the leaf. The juice must not be lost, and is taken 

 up again by the leaves as the rolling process goes 

 on. The next process is that of fermentation, which 

 requires to be watched very carefully. The leaves, 

 when t; ken out of the roller, are laid on shelves 

 undc r blankets, and allowed to ferment for from 3 

 to S hours, according to atmospheric and other con- 

 ditions. After this they are dried by artificial heat. 

 On "Glendale" this is done by a Kinmnnd's patent 

 drying machine, by means of a hot air draught, which 

 is an immense improvement upon the old system, 

 and a saving of some 90 per cent of fuel. With the 

 drying of the leaves the manufacture is completed. 

 It only now remains to sort the various kinds of 

 tea, and to garble out any red or imperfect leaves, 

 Ou the sizing, which is done by a machine, depends 

 the name and the quality of tea. Leaving the drying 

 and sizing room at "Glendale" the visitor is conducted 

 to the p icking room and store. Here, as indeed in 

 all the other rooms, one is struck by the neatness 

 and cleanliness of the operations. Considerable quant- 

 ities of tea are to be found in this room ready for 

 the market, stored in large bius. Under the visitor's 

 eye the whole process of packing is carried on. Here 

 are to be found the tea lor which "Glendale" is so 

 famous, Orange Pekoe (at 111 4 per lb., on the estate,) 

 Flowery Pekoe (at Rl 20 per lb.,) Pekoe souchong 

 (at 14 as.,) Broken Pekoe (at 14 as.,) and Congo (at 

 10 as.) Of these teas Broken Pekoe at 14 as. a lb. 

 commands a very large sale. It should be noted that 

 the above prices are those on the estate. Altogether 

 I have seldom spent a pleasanter or more profitable day 

 than iu viewing the " Glendale " tea estate and factory. 

 Mr. Stanes did not fail to show his guests his usual hos- 

 pitality, nor did tbeyfail to appreciate it. — Madras Mail. 



♦ ' 



Dit. Schomburgk, the well-known botanist of South Aus- 

 tralia, speaks most highly of the Marsilea macropus, or, 

 as it is termed by the natives, the nardoo, which is a 

 plant found to exist abundantly in the interior of that 

 colony, possesses valuable nutritious qualities, and is cap- 

 able of withstanding the effects of the severest drought. 

 — Australasian. 



Timber in Texas. — As an illustration of the extent of 

 the timber trade in North America the following extract 

 from a recent report from Texas will be of interest : — 

 Notwithstanding the fact that the greater proportion of 

 the State consists of immense prairie, Texas possesses the 

 largest area of woodlands of any State in the Union. 

 The timbered country is situated in Eastern Texas; and, 

 according to the Forestry Report, in 1880 there were 

 63,000,000,000 feet of standing Pine, worth, on the average 

 at the mills if sawn up into planks, 12 dols. per 1,000 

 feet. Besides Pine there are large quantities' of Cypress 

 timber, both red and white, from which roofing shingles 

 are made. At Beaumont these mills turn out 250,000 

 daily, and at Orange six shingle mills made during the 

 year 1881 66,000,000. Of Cypress shingles Bois d' Arc is 

 very abundant in some counties, and for posts is unsur- 

 passed, as it will last for years in the ground without 

 rotting. It is also used for carriage and waggon spokes, 

 and is also coming into use for paving streets. It does 

 not appear what the botanical name of the Bois d'Arc is. " 

 The report from which the foregoing is taken concludes 

 by saying that the vast territory of Tex;ts. covering an 

 area one-third larger than either France or Germany, with 

 its divers interests and resources, otters an unlimited field 

 of enterprise for the capatalist, and equal advantages in 

 pther ways to persons of small means, to practical farmers 

 with capital enough to make a start, and to the mechanic. 

 — Gardeners' Chorn icle. 



