November 2, 1885-] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



30^ 



TEA MACHINERY AND THE QUALITY 



OF TEAS. 



Simplicity is giving place to eliiboratiou in machin- 

 ery, if we compare tne "Excelsior" in use in most 

 factories with the antiquated proctuctiou which Jlr. 

 Jackson first brought out — a conglomeration of steel 

 rods, and extraordinary looking joints, the change 

 is very apparent. We believe that those well-kno^vn 

 makers, Messrs. Marshall and Company, have ex- 

 pressed satisfaction with the design of the "Excel- 

 sior," both on account of its durability and simplic- 

 ity. As yet it camiot be said that we have pro- 

 gressed in the way of sifting machinery. It is true 

 that we have the " Ansell," the " Eureka," and one 

 or two more old-fashioned sieves, imitations of win- 

 nowers at home in the one case, and of an ingeni- 

 ous method formerly used to separate the leaf into 

 different grades before tiring — none of them combine 

 a perfect sifter. We should like to see the tea put 

 in at one end as it comes from the driers, and turned 

 out at the other end of the sifter in its different 

 grades. So far, a great deal of manual labor is ne- 

 cessary with all of those machines above referred 

 to, and without, over and above this, a breaker of 

 some kind in conjunction are comparatively useless. 

 The breaker most commonly in use is one known 

 as the Reid's. That the breaking machine has been 

 a gi-eat boon we do not wish for a moment to deny, 

 but like all other machines it has its defects, althou.hg 

 perhaps, to judge from its popularity, these are 

 fewer than its rivals ; some complain that it 

 makes a large quantity of dust, some that it gives 

 , the tea too much of a made appearance and arouses 

 the suspicion of the broker. So far as we have been 

 able to judge there are ways and means supposed 

 to exist to prevent all these defects, for one seldom 

 goes mto a factory in which he does not get a tip 

 as to the right way to do this and to do that, for 

 oui" Assam planter is by no means a protectionist. 

 But the most of those ways and means are depend- 

 ent upon the ser\ices of that universal helper in a 

 tea factory — a cooly. and entirely depend upon what 

 view he may take of this imiovation, whether it 

 tui'ns out a success ,;or otherwise, bo loug as his 

 master is in \-iew he will no doubt follow strictly the 

 hookuifiy but in most instances, when the planter's 

 back is turned, he has an idea that he can im- 

 prove matters, and very often finds to his cost that 

 his idea does not meet with approval. M'hat is 

 wanted is machinery to turn out tea in a uniform 

 manner day by day, and the less elaborate such 

 a machine is the better. In the damp, moist climate 

 of Assam a great deal is lost by the escape of aroma, 

 etc., from 0, longer than necessary exposure whilst 

 the process of assortment is going on. During the 

 last five years a tendency has been observable by 

 following the course of the London market towards 

 quoting Medium Pekoes as rather lower. Now, what 

 is terjued Medimn Pekoes would have been a few 

 years ago taken as good lines, if not first class, and 

 the above is we think merely a proof, that our new 

 medium Pekoes are suffering a little, as tliey are 

 not quite good enough for mixing purposes ; and yet 

 they show better values to pass straight into con- 

 sumption than Chinas, and we feel sure that a 

 good medium Pekoe is the tea to make, of 

 course always observing that there is a large per- 

 centage ; and in many instances it is almost certain 

 that making a large proportion of medium Pekoe 

 would show better results than trying to make a good 

 I'ekoe Souchong, without making a really first-class 

 Pekoe. The day is not far off when Indian planters 

 must be able to give the grocer a slightly better 

 quality for the same monev over what he could 

 obtain in China. The whole tendency latterly in 

 the London market, and by whicli we must be guided 

 is to depreciate anything but first class lines, so 

 that any thing with a tendency to medium has often 

 lost money, and the safest lines we think to go upon, 

 is to assort into as few kinds as possible. We are 

 glad to notice that brokers have Ijeen advising a con- 

 siderable reduction of numbers of class lately, but we 

 think there is still room for more. One of the bset 



judges in tea a few years ago advised the following 

 assortment, a first class Broken Pekoe and Pekoe, a 

 Medium Pekoe Souchong and a Broken Tea con- 

 taining everything else. His reasons for this were 

 sensible, and these were that the high class grades ob- 

 tained such prices that they carried off the lower 

 grades, and the result was a fair average price. 

 We consider, however, that now-a-days times 

 have changed considerably and had the same 

 authority been alive now he would probably, 

 have recommended the assortment into three classes, 

 say. Pekoe, Broken Pekoe, or Broken Pekoe Souchong 

 and a very high class Broken Orange. The heavy fall 

 that has taken place in prices this year is prin- 

 cipally in the high classes, which naturally leads to 

 the inference that there is but a limited market for these 

 lines and that they are decidedly overdone. It must be 

 well known that such high class teas are seldom, if e\or, 

 sent into consumption pure, but are principally used 

 for mixing and blending purposes, and that possibly 

 the only place in which they are drunk in any quantity 

 is in the north of Ireland. S"or some time past quality 

 has been so dinned into the ears of planters that a 

 good few have made nothing more than these line 

 teas, and in consequence the market cannot stand the 

 strain, and simply because when it has to be blended 

 the grocer is begiiming to find out that he can help 

 himself to an equally" good article all ready to his 

 hand, in the large assortment of medium from which 

 he has to pick and choose ; and which render blend- 

 ing, packing, and repacking urmeeessary, thereby 

 effecting a considerable saving to himself, in fact 

 adding largely to his profit, for he makes no 

 allowance to his customer. The small quantit)' of high 

 class Orange Pekoe made by the class of assort- 

 ment we recommend would be quite sufficient to 

 meet the requirements of the trade for blending 

 purposes, and in the Pekoe, or Broken Pekoe, or 

 Broken Pekoe Souchong left in the assortment we 

 would have a tea ready to go into consumption tliat 

 would beat any China out of the field for quality in 

 cup and price. This would reduce the cost of sorting 

 to a minimum, and would invariably give a uniform 

 tea. If in addition to this a factory could bulk its 

 crops, the advantage would still be greater, as the 

 buyer at home instead of having any trouble and ex- 

 pense could take his tea from the docks, and pass 

 it over to the gi'ocer, who in turn w^ould make it over 

 to his customers pure and unadulterated, a savomy 

 beverage, which would soon make its way into every 

 hearth and home in England. — Indidii Tea Planlrrs' 

 Gazelle. 



THE PEPPER-TEEE. 



Br. Taylor, editor of "Science Gossip" has the 

 following paragraph in the Aiistidhisutn: — 



South Australia had lieen panting and thirsting for 

 rain for many weeks, nnd a few days before I landed the 

 rain had .at length descended. The hot and fertile earth 

 had burst forth in iiniteful greeuery.and the rpvived vi'gc- 

 tationshad broken out into a new spring. Tlie garilens 

 were full of lush, almost tropical growth. AVhat sur- 

 prised and pleased me was to see how almost ail kiuds of 

 trees and shrubs grow comfortably and prosperously to- 

 gether upon Australian .soil. .Some of the larger g.irdens 

 are like botanical parliaments, where representatives 

 from all parts of the world meet side by siilc— "pepper" 

 trees(Schiii/f'i ■ntvlle) from the Brazils, drooping their 

 gi'aceful leaves anil clusters of pink berries, palms from 

 Africa aud India, cactuses and aloes from America, pines 

 from California .and Norfolk Island, and a floral crowd 

 of herbaceous plants of cosmopolitan disttibution. Not 

 even in their native coiiutries do these several species 

 grow more rapidly or luxuriantly than in Australia. 

 Formerly it was imagined that the best way to ac- 

 count for one kind of plant being found in one 

 country, and a different plant in another, was 

 that they were placed where the .soil climate, &c., were 

 best fitted for them. But horticulture lias upset that 

 idea by growing all sorts of plants together in the same 

 spot. Consequently we kaow that the geographical 



