904 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June t, 1885- 



" That or, rather, those questions I would answer in 

 somewhat general terms, thus: The rolling machines 

 we have now are probably as perfect as could be denied. 

 As regards the Dryers, it is still a matter of very great 

 doubt whether the foiling off is due to these. The old 

 idea that the direct products of combustion were essenti- 

 al to the keeping qualities of tea has long been ex- 

 ploded by the excellent results of the Sirocco lor my 

 own part! I very much, doubt whether the falling off in 

 the keeping quality is not much exaggerated by brokers. 

 If the chelts are opened in Calcutta, for sale there, or 

 if they are opened here before being required, of course, 

 deterioration sets in; but if the chests are kept intact, 

 I know, from my own experience that after six or seven 

 years, it is as good as the day of packing I would quality 

 this by saying that I assume- the teas have not been too 

 rapidly cured in an excessive temperature, as I do not 

 believe in rapid firing, and do not think that rapid y 

 cu red tea" can be expected to keep;as they "* £P»»U7 

 not so thoroughly cured as they are when sufSc.ent time 

 has been devoted to the process. Kapid firing at high 

 temperatures also probably dissipates the volatile essential 

 oUs and robs the tea of flavour. The old-fashioned cus- 

 tom under which it took many hours to dry tea, was a 

 great contrast to the rapid firing I am referring to. I 

 think that the Gibbs and Barry Dryer has been unfairly 

 abused when abused owing to its being overworked. Its 

 very power of doing a vast amount of work has proved a 

 great temptation when added to ignorance o : the danger 

 o rapid firing on the part of those using it. Thus I have 

 caret. 1 y watched the prices of a garden go down when 

 one of these dryers arrived, and the tea-house manager 

 drove the willing Horse too fast I have also seen that 

 garden's prices go up in as marked a manner when the 

 »mo machine was employed at a reduced temperature 

 and as it should be. I consider that well-made coke is 

 quite as suitable for tea-drying, and practically the same 

 thing as charcoal, hence I see no objection to the use of 

 goof coke. Thus I do not think we can blame the dry- 

 fug machines for the deterioration, though there may be 

 reason at times to blame the way they are used. 



" What do you think about the action of green wood on 

 the lead of the tea-boxes in re the deterioration ? 



"What everybody thinks, at least, should think-that 

 is, greenwood contains pyroligneous acid; tins react 

 U1 on the lead and forms acetate or sugar of lead; the lead 

 fc cOTroded, rendered porous, and no longer damppronf 



"Do you think the green leaf treated as it should be 

 before manufacture, panning apart ? ' 



"WeTl it is not as well cared for a nowadays as it usee 

 to be and that is possibly one source of deterioration, but 

 the conditions ruling arevery different. The mass of lea 



1 to be conveyed in from the field and attended to is 

 Z ?cau and one which is, perhaps, in the nature of 



, n „ s to be expected, and in a measure accepted 



"What views do you hold as to the commercial future 



of Tea?" . . . ., 



"I think our chief aim should be improvement ra the 

 economic questions affecting the industry. We should not 

 rest content with the recent reductions m the cost of pro- 

 ducHon We have to accept and beat competition with 

 other countries-notably, Java and Ceylon, especially the 

 former Should people" in Java only become more enter- 

 S that source alone could turn out enough tea to 

 SI all Europe. I think Ceylon has been over-rated. 

 Ceylon promises to turn out ^moderate quantity ot fine teas, 

 but I doubt if it will become a serious rival in the matter of 

 ouantity [Oh!-ED.] Coming back to the cost of pro- 

 duction' there is still great room for improvement here. 

 H therto our capabilities have been handicapped by the 

 sn a 1 scale on which estates have been worked. There are 

 ^me 90 limited companies on the Calcutta Register, many 

 Sttese though not turning out 1,000 dieses ayear, have 

 all the expensive machinery of a joint stock company, also 

 the European supervision and heavy agency and com- 

 mfssion items, not to speak of the native establishments, 

 &T sufficient for concerns three times the size ! Amalgam. 

 aUo'n "f the cure for this evil. Let me illustrate tins with 

 one example, that of a concern in which I am interested 

 formed by 1 an amalgamation of eighteen or twenty small 

 .oncerns Originally there were that number ot factor.es 

 an in nagers;a.ul establishments, ft* Alter amaJga.m- 



atiug there were but three factories, and six European 

 managers! I look on this, however, as but a commence- 

 ment after all, yet capable of being carried very much 

 further. Thus there is no good reason why all the estates 

 on the Sadiya road should not be amalgamated, if conflict- 

 ing proprietary interests could only be reconciled. There 

 wotild then be one important concern producing about 

 0,000,000 lb. of tea per annum. This would effect a saving 

 of at least 10 per cent., or Id per lb., and the financial 

 advantages would be also very considerable, as the stock 

 would be of sufficient importance to lead to daily trans- 

 actions on the Stock Exchange. This would remedy one 

 of the greatest existing disadvantages or draw-backs to tea 

 investments, as money invested in tea would no longer be 

 locked-up, as at present, with no market to dispose of the 

 shares. There is another reform, the importance of which 

 I would emphasize. A through Bill ot Lading from As^am 

 to London should be introduced. Why should teas con- 

 signed elirect to Loudon have to be placed in a 'lighter' 

 at Calcutta, landed, then placed in godowns, then replaced 

 in 'lighters' to be conveyed alongside the ocean steamer? 

 There is too much waste about this for it to exist much 

 longer in these hard times. The Assam 'flat' should go 

 alongside the English-bound steamer without further ado. 

 There are difficulties in the way, but assuredly there are 

 no insurmountable ones. One thing is safe to predict- 

 viz., that if the present river steamer companies do not 

 take this matter up within the four years of their con- 

 tract, rivals will be found to come forward and do so." 



"What effect has tho Kailway had in the Dibrugarh 

 district? " 



" It has greatly simplified the work of the managers, 

 has relieved them of much anxiety and bother, and lias 

 economized the cost of working in many ways, and has 

 also succeeded in gettieg produce to market a month 

 sooner than formerly." 



'•Ibis it had any effect on the frontier trade?" 

 "Considering that the trans-frontier road to the Irra- 

 waddi is closed by overgrowth of jungle, from tin- long 

 negleet of our Government to keep the route which for- 

 merly existed open for commerce, the effect the railway has 

 had is wonderful. From eleven to twelve thousand maunde 

 a month are now carried to Margarita, the frontier 

 terminus, where, before the completion of the rail- 

 way, not a maund was carried ! These goods art- 

 disposed of to the Siilgphos, who take them to 

 Hukong. Wax, rubber, and other forest produce, &c, 

 are brought rom thence to exchange for Manchester and 

 Sheffield gooels. It is most desirable, and of the great- 

 est national importance, that the old road from Margarito 

 to the Irrawaddi should be reopened and put in decent re- 

 pair, which has never been its condition since the British 

 owned Assam, though it was well enough kept when the 

 Burmese held the country. The reopening of this road 

 would cost a mere bagatelle in comparison to the results 

 which would accrue, and the amount oftrade to be anticip- 

 ated with western China is utterly incalculable. The in- 

 habitants of the trans-frontier country we have found docile 

 and fairly industrious, and their country has unquestion- 

 ably great mineral resources." 



Mr. White's views above recorded will, we feel sure, prove 

 of iuterest to the many who recognize in him one of the 

 leading and most enterprizing spirits connected with the 

 great tea industry of India.— if. <}- C. Mail. 



Effect of Poiaeised Light. — A correspondent of Nature 

 attributes the absence of trees in the extreme north of 

 Scotland, the Shetland Isles, &c, in part to the fact that 

 the light in those high latitudes is polarised, and polarised 

 light fs well known to be much less intense in its ehi mieail 

 action than ordinary white light.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Effect of Pruning. — MM- Casocia and Savastano have 

 recently compared the analysis of the juice of pruned 

 and unpruned Vines respectively. The Vines, belonging 

 to nine distinct varieties, occupied 1 hectare of space- (2* 

 acres); half were pruned, the other half were left intact. 

 On analysiug the juice it was found that that produced from 

 the unpruned Vines was the richest in sugar and the 

 least acid. It would be well if similar experiments could 

 be made on Vines grown on the extension system aud 

 otherwise. — Ibid. 



