140 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1885. 



the £18,000 which was out in advances, and cash balances 

 ill Borneo, part of which were held in reserve against the 

 treasury notes they had issued. From this it would be seen 

 that further funds would be required, but not more than 

 £40,000, only half of which would be imuiediately wanted. 

 The du-ectors had therefore decided to call up £1 a share, 

 which would be sufficient until about that time next year, 

 when another call of the sauie amount might be necessary, 

 Within the year 1886 it might be reasonably hoped, having 

 regard to the progress which thoy had already made, under 

 most unfavourable couditious, that an equilibrium would 

 be established between revenue and expenditure, unless 

 some wholly unforeseen circumstances should occur. Rear- 

 Adrairal U. 0. Mayne, 0. B., seconded the motion. In 

 reply to Mr. Deuce, the chairman stated that the conven- 

 tion which had been made between England, Spain and 

 Germany with regard to the Sulu ArchipeUgo and British 

 Borneo was entirely to the company's advantage, for until 

 it was signed there was just a possibility of some question 

 being raised by Spain about tlieir trade and position and 

 their immunity as to the Archipelago. With respect to 

 the duties, there was to be no monopoly, and Spain was to 

 bo on the same footing with Germany ami England. The 

 motion was unanimously adopted, and the retiring directors 

 and auditors were afterwards re-elected. In reply to a vote 

 of thanks, the chairniau stated that they were founding a 

 great colony, which he was satisfied would sooner or later 

 become of immense value to the nation as well as to those 

 who were now concerned in developing its resources. 



I cannot refrain from telliog you how one of your 

 oldest planters recently expressed himself with refer- 

 ence to your 'Tropical Agriculturist to a friend of my 

 own. He said it was to him, now that he had 

 quitted Ceylon, one of his greatest pleasures and 

 resources. That he industriously read every word of 

 it, and never failed to tind in each number much 

 that was new and instniclivo. He further said he 

 could not conceive that any man actually engaged 

 itt planting work in any part of the world could 

 do without it. This private opinion is but confirm- 

 atory of that expressed by every journal by which 

 your useful monthly has been reviewed or noticed.* 



"TEA NOTES": BY MR. A. F. UOWLING, 



of ihe kornafuli association, limited, 

 Chittagono. 



In noticing this work we commence by publishing 

 a letter which has reached us from the author. Mr. 



Dowling writes:— 



" At page 822 of your May number of the Tropical 

 Agriculturist, I find some ' Generally-admitted Facts with 

 regard to the Manufacture of Tea ' attributed to the ' late 

 Mr. Cameron.' They were written by Mr. A. F. Bruce 

 and myself in May XSSI. It would scarcely be necessary 

 to mention this, were it not for the circumstance that I 

 have embodied such of the facts as are not. considered 

 antiquated now in my 'Tea Notes,' page 31, of which 

 I recently sent you a copy. 



"The -Facts' wore freely circulated, and Mr. Cameron 

 (or Campbell) must have taken liis cnpy fium this to 

 Ceylon." 



We copied the matter fr.im the local "Times, to 

 which it seems to l]ave been sent by a correspondent. 

 In t^e preface to his work Mr. Dowl.ug ii:atcs : — 



These notes were originally compiled for the use of the 

 Kornafuli Association. "Mr. A. F. Bruce supplied thegre.iter 

 part of " Forest Trees," Mr. A. Watson tlic " Vernacular," 

 the rest of the collection consisting </f extracts from the 

 several Note Books at the A.ssiiciation's gardens. 



In the copies offered for sale tlie pages of Areas, Crops, 

 expenditure, &«•> "•'« 'eft blank, while tlio book has been 

 iiiterleaved throughout to admit of adiiitious and correc- 



There will naturally be found much to alter in a compil- 



« And yet, many proprietors of large esjatrs make no 

 provision for the supply and filing of this periodical (costing 

 a few rupees or shillings per aniuim) on their properties— bo. 



ation of this sort. The book does not claim to be an author- 

 ity: it is merely a collection of Notes subject to correction. 

 A better edition may be issued later on, if those who have 

 occasion to refer to the pages will be kind enough to point 

 out any errors they may come across, and will offer sugges- 

 tions tor subsequent improvement. 



The " Notes " form a curiously mixed collection of 

 matter, commencing with a Calendar extending from 

 May 1885, the date of publication, to December 1886. 

 There is an almanac and the names of the months in 

 English and Bengalee, with the Bengalee alphabet. 

 Then come pages with headings for filling in areas 

 planted at different dates ; averages and outturns of 

 tea with garden cost and freight per lb. ; expenditure 

 under diflferent headings per acre, such as European 

 and native establishments, old and new cultivation, 

 buildings, ccoly expenses, manufacture per lij., freight 

 to Calcutta and carriage and boat-hire per maund, 

 and general charges, with total garden cost and freight 

 per lb. deduced. The book was primarily designed 

 for the superintendents of estates connected with the 

 Company for which Mr. Dowling is manager, but 

 it will afford useful hints to tea cultivators every- 

 where. No fewer than nine kinds of bamboo are 

 named in the Notes as applied to various purpose?, 

 amongst which we fiud "slings and binding purposes." 

 The best time for cutting bamboos is saul to be 

 December, whtu there is a decided wintering iu 

 Northern India, the foliage of bamboos being white. 

 Then as regards '-belt lacings " we get some curious 

 information us to eel skins : — 



The strain on belts isalways in the direction of their length 

 and therefore boles cut for the reception of lacing should be 

 oval. Eel skins, when procurable, make the best lacing belts. 

 Kaw hide lacings are useless, and Indents should express 

 Dres.sed leather. 



FifTures for the dimensions of tea boxes arc given 

 which we need not quote, but we notice that between 

 40 Ih. box'S (recommended by the Tea Syndicite 

 for Australia) and tne 80 Ul chest there is a differ- 

 ence of cost of HI 10 annas per maund in favour oi 

 the larger package. Information U given about bricks 

 and buildings which shows that the cosi of the latter 

 at Chittagoug is very moderate. The position is laid 

 down that garden rates sliould be une-third to a 

 half less than thoBe paid by Government. Of rattan- 

 oime there are six kinds which are applied to various 

 purposes, including "slaking" There is quite a 

 chapter on " the Chemistry of Tea," from which we 

 quote as follows :— , , it 



From the moment pressure is brought to bear on the suc- 

 culent leaves in the Rolling Machines through the silent 

 proce.s6 of fermentation or coloring, to the tinio when the 

 fragrant smelling tea leaves the tires, a variety of chemical 

 changes occur iu the Dextrine, GluC'jse, Gum, the Tannin, 

 Nitrogen, Potash, Ammonia, Chlorine and Sulphuric Acid 

 and Essential Oil, which are found in the extract or''Liquor." 

 Is it too much to expect that, in the course of time, to the 

 monotonous report of "greyish, fair tip, brisk, little tiavor',; 

 mav be added the more desirable information of " fairly 

 gummv, potash 2-13 per cent ouly, good trace of Essential 

 Oil " '{ We could then, with our knowledge of manures, sup- 

 ply after a while the lacking Potash, ami do our best to keep 

 ui'i the desired proportion of Essential Oil. 



lleferringto •' Soils and Manures " for the constituents 

 of tea leaves and manufactured tea, I add the following partic- 

 ulars from m.v note-book : — 



Jcids redden blue litmus paper. 

 Alknties or bases give a blu(! color to red papcr.^ 

 Acids und J//-ff/«» have thus a kind of antagouistio func- 

 tion, and neutralize one another. 



Acids acting on liuus from salts which commonly have no 

 action on either blue or red litmus paper. 



T/icive gives Tea its bitter taste— it is very nitrogenous ; 

 although a base, it does not, as other bases, neutralize an 

 acid. It does not exist in the leaf in a free state, but as 

 Taminle of Tlieiiu'. . , 



Tuiniiu gives astriiigency and color to the tea— it is parti- 

 ally de«ti-oycd during fermentation. 



