October i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



273 



j 



No. 1748.-SmiliivrtoNo. 1737 Very bad smell Smel tvery strong 

 ,, 1634. — Apparently bail 



the worst smell 

 ,, 2193.— Much lighter wood, and 



more porous than No smell 



the preceding sample 

 ., 2254.— A dense, heavy wood No smell 

 ,, 2,sm.— Similar to No. 22j4 No smell 



',', 2U31. — A porous light wood, 



very much like No smell 



No. 2199 



" It appears thus that some of the woodB have a strongly- 

 marked fishy smell, which no doubt, will he readily com- 

 municated to the tea." 



" The peculiar odour I found passed off rapidly on ex- 

 posure to the air, and I would therefore suggest to you 

 to spread out for a short time the tea which, in my 

 judgment, has taken up a more or less peculiar and un- 

 pleasant flavour from the wood, and then to te-pack in 

 leads and chests." 



" Whilst I have no doubt that the peculiarly nasty smell 

 of some of the specimens of wood which you sent me for ex- 

 amination has been commanicated to the tea, I am hound to 

 that I cannot detect any difference in the two samples of 

 tea which you sent me with the wood from the chest." 



It was subsequently ascertained that owing to a large 

 increase to the season's crop, the supply of box lids had run 

 short at the Factory, and green wood had to be employed 

 for lids. This was said to be wild mango wood ; and un- 

 fortunately, in making up the lids, seasoned and unseasoned 

 shooks were used indiscriminately, explaining, perhaps, the 

 appearance of corrosion under only certain sections of 

 the lids. 



The above does not go to support Dr. Watt's suggestion 

 that " it is the tea itself which corrodes the metal, and not 

 the wood ; nor do the circumstances support statements in 

 the following paragraphs of the memorandum. Dr. Watt 

 writes : — 



(«) "That tea may be completely destroyed, and yet 

 upon the most careful scrutiny not a single opening can be 

 detected in the lead, and that it is obvious that when the 

 lead is corroded through or perforated, any injurious in- 

 fluence which the tinning might exert upon the tea could 

 not take place." 



The above evidence, and my experience in other in- 

 stances, so far show that the tea is only tainted when the 

 lead is pierced, and that the strength of the flavour im- 

 parted to the tea is in proportion to the degree of corrosion 

 "on the lead. 



(&) " I have not seen a lead lining completely perforated ; 

 but it is curious that the fact that the action seems to 

 commence on the inside of the lead, instead of on the 

 outside, or on the surface in contact with the wood (the 

 supposed acid influence which decomposes the metal), has 

 not been apparently observed." 



As stated above, the surface of the lead next the tea was 

 bright and clear ; the corrosion evidently began on the sur- 

 face next the wood. 



(c) " It is some time now since the action of iron nails, 

 screws, &c, was perceived by the planters to be injurious, 

 and in his tables and machinery these are, by the ex- 

 perienced planter, carefully covered over or protected." 



It was found that the iron discoloured the golden tips or 

 flower of the leaf, detracting from the appearance and 

 affecting the market value of the tea ; but this did not pre- 

 judice the liquor or affect the flavour. 



If damage arises from the action of tea upon lead, why 

 has it not occurred uutil now ? Why did it not occur when 

 teas were " sun dried," and, as we know, often imperfectly 

 cured : And why is it not noticeable in teas packed in 

 teak, cedar, and toon woods ? On the other hand, it may 

 only now occur in connection with Indian woods, as 

 timber is becoming scarcer and dear, and contractors 

 may have been tempted to deliver inferior and un- 

 seasoned woods. Dr. Watt appears to consider that the 

 system of manufacture may be at fault, adding " the 

 introduction of advanced machinery to lessen the expense 

 of labour would seem to augment the climatic influence 

 upon the manufaclured article." But I thiuk it has been 

 proved beyond dispute that with the assistance of machin- 

 ery, a tea of improved quality and a more marketable 

 commodity is produced. By the use of machinery ferment- 

 ation can be arrested in a uniform mauner with regularity, 

 aud a fresh aroma ("noser") and crisp feel, two qualities 

 35 



having an important market value, are imparted to the 

 ten. If instances do occur showing that some machine- 

 dried teas have reached the market limp and faulty, the 

 workman, and not his tools will probably be the secret of 

 the defect, or it may be found that the planter labours 

 under the disadvantage of inadequate accommodation or in- 

 sufficient drying machinery, or both. 



Dr. Watt's experiments, with woods and leads, described 

 in paragraph 4, were conducted in Calcutta during the cold 

 weather; and although the timber was damped, it may be 

 supposed that, at this season of the year, it would not 

 resemble the condition of wood at an Assam tea factory 

 during the rains, when, after a few days' exposure, the 

 original colour is at times hardly discernible. 



I do not iu any way pretend, Sir, to solve the question 

 and merely communicate the above particulars as the result 

 of observation. It is a subject of considerable importance, 

 and the industry is indebted to Dr. Watt for having taken 

 it up.— I am, &c, P. Plavfair. 



6, Lyon's Range, Calcutta, July 29th, 1884. 



IMPORTATION OF TOBACCO FROM SUMATRA AND 

 JAVA DURING 1873-1882. 

 The important extent of imports of tobacco from Sumatra 

 and Java during the last ten years, appears clearly from 

 a couple of statistic statements appended to the interesting 

 '■ Tahaksberickt. Oversicht 1883 " issued by Messrs. P. de Vries 

 & Son, Brokers at Amsterdam. 



The first Table shows the crop in the various sections 

 of Sumatra: Deli, Lankat, Serdang, Benkalis, Edi, etc., in 

 the following totals: — 



Average c. 



rents per J Value in 



Packages. Kilo, about guilders about 



1873 ... 9,238 ... 182 ... 2* million. 

 1871 ... 12,811 ... 154 ... 3" „ 



1875 ... lf>,147 ... 172 ... 3h „ 



1876 ... 28.947 ... 156 ... 6j „ 



1877 ... 36,167 ... 128 ... 6* „ 



1878 ... 48,155 ... 126 ... 9" „ 

 1870 ... 57.544 ... 118 ... 10* „ 



1880 ... 64,965 ... 113 ... llj „ 



1881 ... 82.356 ... 115* ... 14+ „ 

 18^2 ... 1(12,032 ... 137" ... 21 



Of the different Residencies of Java we find in the 

 second Table the following totals: — 



187:: ... 240,006 ... 59 ... 22* million. 



1874 ... 179,328 ... 78* ... 23" „ 



1875 ... 182.177 ... 50" ... 14 „ 



1876 ... 192,143 ... 54 ... 16* 



1877 ... 146,576 ... 32 ... 8" 



1878 ... 159,430 ... 56 ... 1 1 1 „ 



1879 ... 50,220 ... 66 ... 5* „ 



1880 ... 150,502 ... 41 ... 10" „ 



1881 ... 196,462 ... 27 ... 9 



1882 ... 71,434 ... 30* ... 2* „ 

 Since a number of years — write Messrs. P. de Vries & Son 



— there was not so small a crop of leaf-tobacco as that of 

 82. And no wonder! The heavy losses, suffered by most 

 of the concerns of late years by the decline of prices of 

 Java dekblad at the European markets, had for result that 

 only a few of them continued to devote their attention to 

 the article, many entirely relinquished the culture, and the 

 rest restricted it considerably. Those, who in .lava con- 

 tinued to devote their [care 'and enterprise to this article 

 during 1882, have had no reason to regret it. 



With regard to the duty on tobacco of ten cents per 

 kilogram, as proposed by Government, tin- brokers note, 

 that for sure no one will assert that this duty will do much 

 harm to the consumer; though for many, in our country, 

 tobacco belongs to the articles of daily consumption, yet 

 it cannot be counted among the first necessaries of life, 

 yet it is feared that an increase of duty, whether in tin- 

 form of import duty or of excise, may have most prejudicial 

 consequences for the manufacture ami the culture in Nether- 

 land. A main requisite for the tobacco-trade and manu- 

 facture is a free action, with the least possible fiscal 

 interference ; by this Bremen and Hamburg have prospered 

 in both; whereas London aud Liverpool, by the high duties 

 and consequent drawbacks, are of very slight import in the 

 Tobacco trade of the world. — Indian Mercury. 



