May i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



813 



were looked lor, a reason for it bud to be devised 

 and Grandpass Packing Establishment was made the 

 bugbear. Since this establishment was given up, how- 

 ever, prices of the Ceylon Company, Limited, teas so 

 far from being improved, have been worse than ever: and 

 some other reason must be sought for. The curious 

 part of it is that the teas, at least some of them, 

 are by no means bad, and over and over again have 

 I offered to purchase such teas here at prices which 

 would have left a very fair profit to the Company 

 compared with the Loudon prices subsequently realized. 

 However the C-yhm Company, Limited, is not singular 

 in this respect, and I can quite understand novices 

 in the art of tea making desiring to prove the 

 value of their produce in the London market for 

 themselves before accepting local vnhutions. Of course 

 I have heard all sorts of rumours as to the cause of 

 the poor prices realized by Ceylon Company, Limited, 

 teas, but if I were to repeat them publielyl might lay my- 

 self open to all kinds of dreadful things too fearful to con- 

 template. One possible reason may be the rolling machin- 

 ery in use by Ceylou Company, Limited. I believe they 

 employ none but Nelson's machines in which the 

 tea is put into a bag before being submitted to the 

 pressure of the machine. 



" On the general question, however, as to the advis- 

 ability of finishing off the tea in Colombo in preference 

 to doing this work on estates, much depends on 

 how you look at it. I mean as to whether you 

 put yourself in the place of the mill-owners or the 

 tea-grower. If tea is to manipulated in Colombo, 

 mill-owners must be allowed to make a fair profit 

 on the operation, and the question if : can they do 

 this and yet make it more advantageous for the 

 grower to employ them than to complete the work 

 on the estate ? This requires a little consideration. — 

 Yours, C. W. H." 



PROGRESS IN TEA MANUFACTURE: 



By Artehus. 

 * * * of course, as we produce so much moro tea there 

 is naturally a greater quani ity of poor tea ou the market; 

 but that is not the point. The proportion of poor tea 

 has increased of late years notwithstanding that the current 

 low prices have brought about an extra amount of 

 effort and of expenditure on machinery, to "ensure "good 

 quality. Neither the boasted improvements, the machinery, 

 the experience, nor the European intelligence have individu- 

 ally or collectively improved the quality so far. As a 

 matter of fact the quality has actually deteriorated. Com- 

 ing upon the top of the present depression in trade and 

 tho low prices ruling this startling revelation is attracting 

 the lively attention both of proprietors and shareholders 

 on this side, and of dealers and brokers, and of makers 

 of tea machinery. Where is the blame to be laid ? is, of 

 course, tho natural outcome. Somebody or something, or 

 a series of things must be the cause of the acknowledged 

 deterioration. One blames the machinery and another de- 

 fends his machine, but blames the alm.se of his machine 

 in incompetent hands. Another, or rather many, blame the 

 •' withering," as at present practised, and allege that a 

 returnto "panning" is the only coursoleft. Othersblame 

 the excessive heat employed in dryers, and others 

 the misuse of the process so-called " fermentation." Others 

 blame over-plucking and the over-maturing of leaf before 

 plucking, and others the exhaustion of soil from year 

 to year, and the non-employment of suitable manures. 

 Others think that the bushes are weakened by improper 

 pruning, and that drainage is not paid sufficient attention 

 to. Excessive abstraction of juice in rolling is also men- 

 tioned amongst other causes which it would serve no 

 purpose to add to the sufficient list already given. 



Looking at the above state of affairs from a broad point 

 of view, what is most apparent on tho first glance '■ We 

 have an effect only too appurent — deterioration. We have, 

 for this effect, a great variety of " causes " alleged, some 

 of which actually clash with one another, and upon which 

 there is most certainly no common accord even among the 

 " experts " of today. ' » 



Science hitherto in connection with the manufacture of 

 tea, bas been merely dallied with, accopted in spasmodic 

 etlorts without any regard whatever to continuity or to 

 its complete connection with the raison d'itre of each 

 si par:ik{ process as related to the perfect whole. Here has 

 been the prime cause of wasted effort in the past, and this 

 is now reooguizedby many at this stage of the enquiry. 

 Planters should no longer be blamed for tho sins of 

 the past, since the nonperception of this first great 

 poiut has been practically universal. It follows then 

 that success in manufacture has hitherto savoured too much 

 of chance, has hinged too much on the hapi.v dis- 

 covery, by mere accident, of some particular • -ood " 

 method, as judged merely by the bulk of the* out- 

 turn. For an industry of such importance as the Indian 

 tea industry to be in such a humiliating position is not 

 likely to be endured for any length of time once the 

 true state of affairs becomes realized. Every industry 

 has passed through its initial periods, and suffered 

 more or less during these as tea has done. Rule of 

 thumb m tho end has had to give place to scientific prin- 

 ciples. .Sugar refining is an illustration. Every sugar 

 refinery of any repute now has its laboratory, and 

 its various operations are but links in a perfect chain of 

 chemical processes, and this is the proper outcome of im- 

 provements, machinery, experience, and European intellig- 

 ence, once these have been systematically and scientifically 

 brought to bear upon an industry to raise it out of its 

 transition period. This end must be aimed at in tea manu- 

 facture. It must not be forgotten that when, under the 

 exigencies of having to turn out unwieldly quantities from 

 siug.e estates, we threw aside the Chinese methods of 

 manufacture and launched out upon our new career we 

 threw aside the experience of many centuries We ' had 

 until then followed more or less, certain methods whioh 

 experience had taught the Chinese were the best, without 

 our really knowing, however, the scientific basis underlying 

 each process We adopted machinery and mechanical 

 dryers, and changed the whole system of manufacture, and 

 for a time have been elated at the boasted " progress " 

 We experienced the groat advantages of machinery, but 

 we had not counted the cost, as in our sublime ignorance we 

 did not reckou with deterioration, which we had carefully 

 opened tke door to without knowing how or m what 

 direction. That door has to be closed. Do not suppose 

 that I am blaming auy machine, far from that. Machines 

 entaal to our factories, but we must reorganize our 

 system of manufacture to bring about the good results 

 we obtained in the old "panning" and chtilah days • 

 and before we reorganize our system we have yet to dis- 

 cover the scientific raison d'Hre for every detail necessary 

 to our end m view— the production of perfect tea. We 

 want no more dallying with science, no more spasmodic 

 efforts— we want a seieutific reason for the faith that will 

 be 111 us when we can say, We can make good tea in 

 all weathers. This grand aim is the only one that Mill 

 satisfy the natural requirements of the case now that 

 these are being recognized in the proper quarters. Pro- 

 prietors are sick of excuses anent bad weather. Share- 

 holders are asking why bad weather for manufacture is 

 allowed to affect quality in these s cientific days ? and 

 there is more sense in this question than in many asked 

 by their class. Provided the weather admits of properly 

 matured leaf being gathered, that is as far as depend- 

 ence upon the weather should bo allowed to affect the 

 question. After that, quality and weather should be di- 

 vorced. With the introduction of ensilage and harvest- 

 saving machinery this "has been brought about in other 

 crops, tea "manufacture" must bo over-hauled in its 

 turn, and ru!e-of-thumb replaced by due attention to 

 rules formulated in strict accord with the series of 

 chemical actions, mechanical actions, &c, involved in the 

 production of good tea. These have hitherto not boon 

 sufficiently exactly understood. 



Taking this view of the case, what do planters know 

 of the reasons of their various processes, and what do 

 they know about the chemical cause of the effect they 

 produce ' They know nothing, though some hold opinions 

 about " fermentation" which would be amusing to scientific 

 men. Note how many planters have beon taught to send 

 the juice flying in the rolling process under the idea of 

 increasing the strength of their toas ! That is only one 



