August i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGKICULTURIST. 



H3 



And in the spent leaves, or insoluble part or outturn : — 



Water ... ... 500 per cent. 



■\Vooily fibre principally 

 carbon ,. ... 27-00 „ 



Legiuncn, a nitrogenous 

 protein substance, some- 

 times called vegetable 

 casein ... ... 1500 „ 



Other protein albuminous 



compounds ... 1000 „ 



Insoluble tannin and in- 

 eoluble ash ... 300 „ 



6000 



10000 p. c. 

 Tea, it will thus be observed, is extraordinarily rich in 

 nitrogen, so much so that the fresh leaves contain more 

 nourishing protein compounds than beans and peas ; and were 

 it possible to render the coarse leaves palatable, they might 

 be used as anourishiDg article of food. 



The whole percentage of the leaf need not necessarily be 

 returned to the soil, as we have already seen that ])art of it is 

 derived from the air. To determine approximately the sub- 

 stances actually extracted and which cannot be restored 

 from natural sources, we must pay attention to the ash of 

 maniifactiured tea, the analysis of which is : — 



Per cent. 

 Potash ... ... ... ... 300 



Boda .. ... ... ... -10 



Magnesia ... ... ... ... -80 



Lime ... ... ... ... '2.) 



Oxide of Iron ... .,, ... -25 



Protoxide of Alanganese ... ... '05 



Phosphoric Acid ... ... ... -80 



Sulphuric Acid ... ... ... a trace. 



Chlorine .. ... ... ... do. 



Bilica .. ... ... ... -25 



Carbonic Acid ... ... ... 1-00 



tVTiile the combu.stible or gaseous portions of the manu- 

 ctured leaf are : — 

 Water ... ... 5-00 



Nitrogen in the tea 



e-xtract ... 600 

 ,, ,, insoluble 



Bjpentleaf... O'OO 



„ „ Theine ... '50 



Owbon ... ... 4000 



Otygen ... ... 3000 



Hydrogen ... ... 500 



i«ulphur ... ... 1-50 



... ... 9400 



loono p. c. 



The bulk of the carbon, oxyi^en and hydrogen of the above 

 •eing supplied by the air, and existing so plentifully in good 

 tea soils ; and the quantity of soda, magnesia, lime, oxide of 

 Iron, and manganese extracted being comparatively insigni- 

 ficant, we neeil only pay attention to a re-supjjly of the other 

 substances, nitrogen, potash, sulphur and phosphoric acid ; 

 the two former, nitrogen and potash, being those of most 

 importance. There being 12i lb. of the former and 3 lb. of 

 the la ter in each 100 lb., it therefore follows that a yearly 

 produce of 400 lb. ♦ removes from the soil 50 lb. of nitrogen 

 and 12 lb. of potash per acre. Oowdung and linseed, or 

 castor cakes are the ouly manures which so far have been 

 used to auy extent by tea planters, and with considerable 

 ■uuccess 60 tar, as a re-supply of nitrogen nn.l some ol the 

 soluble salts is concerned ; but neither of these manures 

 contains pot.ish.t It will be an as.sistance to have, a simple 

 test fortius last named valuable ingredient. Chemical text 

 books may be sought in vain for any but the most elaborate 

 means of detecting its presence ; but I find that for a rough 

 test it is sufficient to stir into the tea infusion (iu a wine 

 glass) ae nmch tartaric acid as will cover the point of a pen 

 knife (part of the contents of the white packet of a seidlitz 

 powder will ilo,) when a slight cloud will indicate a trnce,and 

 a precipitate an abundance of potash. 



Were sea weed available iu any quantity, it might pay to 

 produce a manure from its ashes, rich in both nitrogen 

 and potash. Such a manure, mixed with a small propor- 



« Dry" t>-'* no doubt. — Ed. 



f Outor cak« contains a good deal ef potash,— £d. 



tion of bone ash and sulphate of soda, would he an efRcd 

 ent food for the tea plant, and would need to be appliei- 

 in moderate quantities onlyj to keep the soil in conditionl 

 It would seem that tea leaves remove from the soi. 

 only about one-third or one-fourth the potabh whicli 

 coffee beans take away, the potash in hit,'h-class Ceylou 

 plantations being so high as 50 and even 52 per 

 cent. What was good for coffee, we may rely on it, 

 will be good for tea : tuperphosphate, bune duet or 

 steamed bones, castor cake, and especially cattle 

 manure. If cow-dung cannot be cheaply produced, 

 then we should think ainmoniacal, substances, such as 

 dissolved guano, or nitrate of soda, could be substituted. 

 But the effect of returning all prunings and weeds to 

 the stirred soil is wonderful. 



We pass over Telegrams and Telegram Rules, 

 with rules about Tea in Bond, Tea Consumption 

 and Tea Lead. From a table showing working 

 of tea companies in 1883, we find that pro'! 

 duction per acre varied from 2311b. lowest to G17 

 highest. The profits were not, however, in proportion 

 to yield. The tea in the cas-e of the large yield cost 

 lO.Jd per lb. and sold at only lUd. In the case of 

 the highest profit £9 33 7d per 'acre, the cost of 

 production was Is Id, but the tea sold for Is 8d. Of 

 23 Companies included, four made no profit, while only 

 five realized between £5 and £d per acre. The others 

 ■were below £5, down to £1. But in many cases the 

 profit was calculated upon excessive capital expenditure 

 per acre, so high in one case as £143 per acre. There is 

 an interesting notice of the rise of the Indian tea 

 industry, which we need not repeat. But it is well 

 to recall the fact that the Committee of eleven Europ- 

 eans and two natives appointed by Lord Wni. Ben- 

 tiuck in 1834 ascertained that tea was indigenous from 

 Suddia in Assam to Ytinnau on the border of China. 

 The first public Company, the Assam Company, was 

 formed in 1839, so that really it is not yet half-acentury 

 since private enterprize engaged fully in tea culture iu 

 India. But nearly 70 millions of pounds will be produced 

 in 1885. Mr. Cowling's article concludes thus :— 



The future of tea is a subject to be approaclied with 

 diffidence. Prices have fallen to a figure at which only the 

 best concerns can work with profit, and, if the lowest point 

 has not yet been reached, there is a bad time ahead un- 

 comfortable to contemplate. There is room for any amount 

 more ol Indian and Ceylon teas in the consumint;' markets 

 from the circumstance of their being of better qiiality than 

 their China rival, but the question is, will the consumer ac- 

 customed to cheap China mixtures, give a price to pay the 

 grower of the pure Indian article ? In the meantime there 

 is the consoling fact that the consunjption of tea is increasing 

 and that of intoxicating liquors decreasing. Poor China 

 stuff held its own fairly well in the good days of pure 

 malt ; there need be no fear then of wholesome Indian 

 tea competing snccepsfully with the mixtures of distilled 

 rice, strychnine, juniperberries, turnips and ])etroleum which 

 now-a-days are sold in fancy labelled bottles under the delus- 

 ive name of " winosand spirits." 



The quc-ition of the abolition of the exorbitant duty 

 of 6d a lb. bus never yet been taken iu hand iu earnest, 

 and probably will rest till it is realized that the only effective 

 blow to strike at the root of intemperance is the introduction 

 of a " free breakfast table." 



Production will no doubt right itself like every thing 

 el.^e. If gardens producing 3 niaunds of tea an acre find 

 it bard to pay their way, those turning out less than that 

 quantity must close sooner or later unless very favorably 

 situated as regards labor and transport. It is a ([uestion 

 of soil, and, as we all know, there are thousands of acre, 

 which some daj-, when shareholders have liad enough of them 

 will revert to jungle as umenuinerativoand worthless. 

 In a de'Cription of brick tea, it is stated that 

 the mas.i is sprinkled with />a«;'ec pancel Tlie temper- 

 ature of the Agonea estate is given now, instead 

 of in connection with rainfall, and we fiud that 

 the extremes are 4G' at 7 a, m, in January to 

 91° at noon in July, From April to August the 



