Dec, 1, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



411 



Respectiug tbe costs we are instructevl that in 

 comparisoa with oil-paiut Carbolineum is just as- 

 touishidgly cheap ami compared to a coating of 

 tar, of the liquiil oil only a very small quantity is 

 required for the same seperficial space ; 1 kg, being 

 usually calculatoil to Q-m. 



In danger of catching fire Carbolineum is by no 

 means,* and if stored it will keep unchanged for any 

 length of time. For the pui-pose of rendering damp 

 walls dry, at^ainst fuugii *Vc., Car^olineunt has lllje- 

 wise proved ctfective. In stables it has proved not 

 alone a means of preservation but a disinfectant as 

 well, as it is said to eradicate vermin and even 

 rati. Owing to the great and universal interest 

 felt for the preservation of every wooden structure 

 and utensil from the evil effects of tbe weather 

 and tho wet, to which they may be more or less 

 exposed, to save building-timber, verandahs, wood- 

 ornamentations and panuelling, sheds, fencing, doors, 

 shutters, field and garden utensils of every descrip- 

 tion, vineyard posts, &c., from rot and delapidation 

 we may be pardoned in drawing attention to so 

 valuable a material, which is at the same time so 

 simple in its treatment. The material to which we 

 here desire to draw attention is obtainable from yiv. 

 V. Lechler in Stuttgart, where from the Factory- 

 stores South, and Middle-Germany, and the entire 

 Kxport finds supply, where every further information 

 is furnished on application, and where small ([uant- 

 ities for intended trails are obtainable. 



TEA TASTER'S OCCUPATION. 



A medical writer of an article iu the Midical 

 liecoyif on tea tasting by brokers and dealers in 

 tea, maintains that it is a healthful occuiiation, 

 which is not in accoi-dance with the conceived' opinion 

 of other writers on the subject. In support of his 

 assertion he reports cases of living men far advanced 

 iu life wlm have followed the business of tea tast- 

 ing for periods ranging from thirty to forty years 

 without injury to their health. 15ut whether the 

 writer'.s conclusions are correct or otherwise, the life 

 of a tea taster is a curious one, aud the process 

 of examining and deciding upon the qualities of 

 the article is one not generally known. 



There are, says the correspondent of the Medical 

 Record, probably more than a hundred firms engaged 

 in tea tasting in the City of New York, for instance. 

 In all of their offices there are large tables with 

 round, revolving tops. A circle of teacups is p'.aced 

 along the edge of these. The tea taster sits down 

 before the display of crockery, and tastes one cup 

 after another, moving tbe table-top around. In the 

 centre of the lable is a pair of scales with a silver 

 halt dime in one of tbe balances. Une or two large 

 kettles are kept constantly with boiling water in 

 them. When a sample of tea is to be tasted, as 

 much is weighetl out as will balance the half 

 dime. This is put in a teacup and the holing water 

 poured on. The tea taster then stirs up the leaves, 

 lift them on his spoon, and inhales the aroma. At 

 the same time he generally takes a sip of the 

 infusion, holds it in his mouth for a short time, 

 and then spits it out. Enormous brass cuspadores, 

 holding two or three gallons, receive the tea thus 

 tasted and the contents of the cups that have beeu 

 examined. On some occasions, when a large amouut 

 of tea of a certain knid is to be bought, many samples 

 of this are brought in from different houses. The 

 buyers and sellers sit around the revolving table 

 with the samples made into infusions into the trups 

 before them. These are tasted all around, the '' body", 

 " finoue.ss", " toastiuess", &c., are learnedly discussed, 

 and the poorer specimens discarded. Then those 

 that are left are tasted again and the number 

 further reduced. So it goes on until the article 

 which unites the desired quality and price is obtained. 



The skill displayed at these "drawings" is quite 

 remarkable, A tea taster will detect not only the 



* The German idiotu is amusing. — Ed. 



quality of a tea .as reg.ards age, strength, flavor, 

 fineness, &.C., but he can tell in which of the nu- 

 merous districts in China tlie tea was grown. The 

 facts regarding tbe dilTereut samples are sometimes 

 put on the bottom ,of the cups, are then mixed up, 

 and tho infusions tasted again and sorted out by 

 their fiavors, 



A great deal of tea may \w t.istcil ln'fore these 

 tea drawings .are finished. It is hard to tell tln^ amount 

 that a tea taster takes dnrin,u' a d.ay, for it varies 

 a great deal with the activity of business. F,;w of 

 the gentlemen whom I a^kd could give any idea. 

 Sometimes, however, as many as four or five hundred 

 cups are tasted in a day. It is ipiite the custom 

 to h.ave to be tasting tea steadily for the most of 

 a djy, or for hours at a time. Trobahly an average 

 of two hundred cups a day throughout the vear 

 is a low estimate. The poorer kinds of tea are often 

 not sipped at all. But the sense of smell is de- 

 pended on. Of tbe better <|ualities of tea, some is 

 swallowed, and some spit out. Indeed whenever tea 

 is taken into the month a little of it is swallowed. 

 The tea gets into the system, therefore in three 

 ways: by inhalation. l>y absorption through the oral 

 mucous membrane, and by the stomacb. More tea 

 is siniply taken into the mouth without swadovviug 

 than is inhaled alone; but all ihe tea is inhaled, 

 even if it is fasted also. It is only a small pro- 

 portion, amounling to not more than two or three 

 cups a day, that is swallowed. A silver five cent 

 piece weighs I'lS grms. (gr. XVIII). Estimating 

 that an average of two hundred cups of tea are 

 tasted per ilay. about one-half of a pound would 

 repre.5ent the whole amount used. 



Japan tea has of late years become by f.ir the 

 most jiopular variety.* aud more of it is importeil 

 than of all other kinds together. Green tea, on the 

 other haml, is much less extensively used than 

 formerly, —hidian Mercury. 



♦ 



TflE BOTANICAL C4AEDSNS IN .JAVA. 



During the last few years so many useful and im- 

 portant improvements have beau made iu the botan- 

 ical gardens at Ijuiteu7.org and Tsi-liodas that it 

 might uot be amiss if the attejition of the readers 

 of Xiilnrf were «gain drawn to these valuable seals 

 of systematic and philosophical research. 



On entering the gardens at Jjuitenzorg the stranger 

 is at once struck with the wealth and luxuriance 

 of the vegetation he sees, the great h(Mght of the 

 trees whose trunks and branches are in many cases 

 covered with heavy creepers, the dense copses of the 

 different species of bamboo, the eccentric-looking 

 .screw-pines and the hand.somc palm trees; but the 

 scientific observer is also stuck with the care that 

 has been taken to arrange all these many varieties 

 of tropical plant life in, as far as pos.sible, tl eir 

 ■systematic order, and that each specimen has its 

 scientific, and iu many cases its IMalay name also, 

 clearly and distinctly pi i ited on a little board by 

 its side. 



It is not difficult for any one to find his w.ay 

 about the ganleu, and in a very short time he can 

 discover the particular family or gronp of plants 

 which he may desire to stuily. Many families have 

 probably more repi-esi^ntatives in these gardens than 

 in any in the world. Tbe Sapatace.at, for instance, 

 so rarely seen in Eur.'pis are here representid by a 

 great variety of genera and species, and tlu; I'alin- 

 aec.-e, the llubiacea;, the liurseracea;, the Orehid- 

 aceie, and other families have now a large number 

 of rare and interesting represinitatives. 



The herbarium which is attached to the garden 

 contains a large eullectioii of dried plants and seeds 

 collected together from the many expeditions into 

 the little or unknown parts of the archipelago and 

 from othn- sources. Attached to the herbarium there 

 is a comfortable and convenient little library which 



* In the United States.— Ed. 



