May i, 1885,] 



TTTR TROPICAL AGRTCTTLTTTRIST. 



807 



In the matter of weeding, a dirty farm gives just as 

 poor returns as a weedy estate, and it is a notorious 

 fact that the farmers who are loudest in their complaints 

 at the present state of depression, and who are the fore- 

 most at Farmers' Alliance meetings, have their farms 

 in a disgraceful state with weeds. 



There is still another point in which coffee planting and 

 farming in Britain correspond, — I allude to the state of 

 depression which we find hoth industries now sufferiug 

 from. Who could have thought in the palmy days 

 of coffee, in 1874, what a decade would bring forth ? 

 Then, the bushel of parchment coffee was selling at 

 R12-50, now it is only worth RS. Then, Ivl.OOO an 

 acre was paid for a good estate ; now that same sum 

 would buy many an estate in the island. Then, a 

 planter had only to show himBclf either in a merch- 

 ant's office or a banking-house, and mention his re- 

 quirements, to be at once accommodated ; but now, 

 Ichabod — the glory has departed from him. Ten years 

 ago, farming in Scotland was considered to be in a 

 prosperous state, no cornplaiuts were heard, and yet, 

 if one goes into figures, it will be fouud that prices 

 are more in favour of farmers now than then. On 

 referring to the books of my own farm, I find that in 

 the years 1S74, 1875 and 187U. oats averaged 38 bushels 

 poracre, and sold at 16s per quarter, against an 

 average of 40 bushels to the acre sold at 2'2s per 

 quarter during the last three years. Grass-parks 

 during the years 1874-76 let at au average of £1 10s 3d 

 per acre ; whilst the very same fields, under similar 

 conditions, during the past three years, have let at an 

 average of £2 9s 3d per acre. From the same source 

 I fiod that cattle have remained just about the same 

 in price, two years old fetching from £20 to £27 

 per head. The rental again has been reduced from 

 £1 13s 6d to £1 5s 0d an acre, which also is in favour 

 of the tenant. Under these circumstances, I fail to 

 see why the cry of depression has been so great, when 

 everything points to a more favourable state of affairs 

 now than ten years ago. I fear I must again re- 

 mark that the loudest in the outcry have their farms 

 in the poorest condition and most overgrown with 

 weeds — but, surely, this is the fault of the farmer 

 and not of the land. COSMOPOLITE. 



heated vessel, they>ill have the same result.— American 

 Qrocre, 



[If the tea-pot is heated before the tea is put into it and 

 if the water poured over the leaves is boiling, and a cosy 

 is placed over the tea-pot, the brew will be perfoct in five 

 minutes. — Ed.] 



HOW A CHEMIST MAKES HIS TEA. 



"How to make a, good cup of tea "is a question very 

 often propounded by the industrious house-wife. It has 

 been often told how the Chinese, the Japanese and 

 others make theirs, but we have never seen before 

 in print how n chemist makes his " cup that cheers." The 

 fallowing is the method adopted by Professor Attfield as 

 described in his " Water and Water Supplies." He says : 

 11 A solitary chemist in his laboratory boils water in a 

 glass beaker, and when it has boiled about one minute he 

 turns off the source of heat, drops in a teaspoouful of tea, 

 places saucer over the mouth of the beaker, and for three 

 or four minutes feasts his eyes on the slowly-falling leaves 

 and the gradual coloring of the infusion from a pale sherry 

 tint to a (lark golden. He then decants the clear, bright 

 fluid into another beaker, and, according to his wisdom, 

 adds nothing, or sugar and milk, or cream, if at hand. 

 A portion is at once poured off, cooled to drinking temper- 

 ature, and enjoyed, and then another portion is cooled off 

 and enjoyed, and, at proper intervals, others, the last being 

 still a sipped draught of delicious hot tea. It is a great 

 luxury to have a hot stock to the last. No doubt that 

 advantage innlves the cooling of each portion before 

 drinking, hut For this operation there are those who, 'when 

 nobody's nigh,' act on the belief that a saucer is the very 

 thing; indeed, that it was originally made for tliis purpose. 

 The semi- exhausted leaves are thrown away ; a con- 

 noisseur never ventures on a second brew." We have 

 several times pointed out that this is the proper modi? of 

 preparing a delicious cup of tea; but seeing that the 

 housewife has not the appliance of a chemist's laboratory, 

 still, if they draw the tea say, from ten to twelve minutes 

 in tho tin pot, and then draw it off in another previously 



Tea at Vimanaoram.— A gentleman wrote to us 

 some time ago from Vizianagram in the Madras 

 Presidency : — 



"I shall be much obliged if you will e i vt voor 

 opinion as to whether the rainfall I get here is sntfici- 

 ent for tea. The average is about 50 inches. Last 

 year it was only 40, but that was abnormal. The 

 whole fall is between 1st May and 30th October, none 

 scarcely in the other months: perhaps about an inch 

 each in November December, January. February, March 

 and April dry and hot; November, December and Janu- 

 ary cold and frosty: in fact in October begins to be- 

 rather cold. Reasonable facilities for irrigation a good 

 big stream never dry. Soil is pretty good, rather stony 

 and has all been previously cultivated by natives 1 see 

 m tho Tea Cyclopedia (p. 2CS) that in Ohota Nauriore 

 kumaiin and Kangra the rainfall is only 47'84 48-61 and 

 42-61 respectively, but somehow I think this is not correct- 

 what do you think ? If this rainfall is correct there is 

 of course no earthly reason why tea should not pay on 

 these hills. " ' J 



We regret that this letter has been so long over- 

 looked. In reply to our correspondent's question we 

 may say that tea could never pay with the rainfall 

 he mentions. 



Tea Withering.— The great want felt, no doubt is a 

 good withering machine, and it will, no doubt, come in 

 time, but bitter experiences will probably be the results 

 of experiments for some time. The conditions that 

 attach themselves to withering the tea-leaf present so 

 many difficulties that until the whole question has been 

 gone into carefully, we cannot hope for any very good 

 results. There are, no doubt, at present, many engineers 

 who could in a very short time, produce a machine to 

 wither leaf, but the point which, we feel sure, would be 

 the stumbling block would be the doing so, without at 

 the same time interfering with the fermentation and to 

 attain a correct pitch of which forms one, of the many 

 studies that engages a planter's attention during the 

 manufacturing, aud very often, through some small slip 

 resulting in disappointing results, all through the year 

 In considering fermentation, before we go further we 

 think that it is necessary to state that although wither- 

 ing is, we may say, considered by many as a separate 

 operation, in reality it is not ; for fermentation is going 

 on in the leaf, whilst it is withering. What is ferment- 

 ation then becomes the question, and we may say safely 

 wo think, it is a decomposition of certain substances in 

 the tea-leaf, which makes it more palatable. We think 

 that but a thin line divides over fermented leaves aud 

 ) putrefacation. It is well known, that in order to produce 

 ( a green tea, no fermentation is necessary, hence to force 

 '■ withering, or the primary stage of fermentation, by 

 j means of heated air, results in a hybrid, between a black 

 or green tea, hitherto nameless ; but which is easily re- 

 cognized by any planter ; as tea which has to be manu- 

 factured, this loses all "nose "or aroma, and liquors 

 are wanting in briskness, although possessing, to all out- 

 ward appearances a good dark liquor. Yet to all 

 appearances, although it may seem an anomaly, a certain 

 amouut of heat is required, to get the best results. 

 I Given a high temperarture, dry air, and drv leaf, and any 

 , one can make good tea, so that the difficulty lies iu a 

 nutshell, and the question is, how is the humidity to be 

 extracted from the atmosphere without using a perhaps 

 too high temperature ? and endangering your manipulated 

 tea, instead of turning out a true black, if not a green, 

 I certaiulya •• namoona " tea, for which, we are told, there 

 is but a limited demand. In many parts of Assam, after 

 a fortnight's continuous rain, the atmosphere is lad™ with 

 1 humidity. Tho conditions vary from day to day and it 

 is only by close observation aud unrelaxiug vigilance that 

 the best results can be hoped for.— Indian Planter? Gazette 



