Makch I, i8S6.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



607 



dry bed of earth or straw, or some absorbent material, 

 and it should be surrounded with a gutter filled with 

 this absorbent, and the earth or straw, or whatever it 

 should be frequently renewed, the soaked matters 

 being tossed up on to the top of the heap. When 

 manure is exposed to the rain it had better not be 

 quickly fermented, as in the process of fermentation 

 the great change which occurs is the increase of soluble 

 matter, and as this is liable to be washed away, it is 

 well that manure which has to stand long should be 

 very slowly fermented. In such cases it should be 

 packed closely together, and exposed as little as possible 

 to the direct force of wind. 



There are some substances which are valuable in pre- 

 serving manure and hastening its decomposition, but 

 imless the heap is under cover or exposed to very little 

 rain, they should not be used. Chief among these 

 substances is t/j/psion. The effect of gypsum is to prevent 

 loss of ammonia, and it may also hasten the nitrific- 

 ation process, It is a safe substance to employ, and it 

 should be sprinkled over the heap as it rises, so that it 

 may ultimately be fairly well distributed throughout 

 the mass. Carbonate of lime or marl niay also be added 

 with advantage, and even fresh lime may be safely 

 sprinkled through the heap in small quantity (about 1 

 per cent), and if put only on fresh dung, there need be 

 no fear of loss of ammonia. Fresh dung does not 

 contain ammonia ; it is only after fermentation has 

 set in that ammonia is formed. The action of lime and 

 ita salts is to hasten the conversion of ammonia into 

 nitric acid, so that nitrate of lime is formed, and as 

 that is a very soluble salt, it would plainly be a mistake 

 to encourage its formation in a manure heap exposed 

 to rain and liable to leakage. — North British Agri- 

 ciUturist, 



BRAZIL COFFEE IN RUSSIA. 



Our producers might follow with profit the example 

 lately set by the Brazilian coffee-growers. The 

 enormous increase of their product of late years has 

 stimulated them to improve every opportunity for in- 

 creasmg its consumption in foreign countries. They 

 took advantage of the internatioial exposition held in ' 

 St. Petersburg last summer and gained a most enthusi- 

 astic reception of their goods. Heretofore the con- ' 

 sumption of coffee has been very small in Kussia— 

 only about 7,()2o.0l>U pounds in 18*9, giving the small- 

 est per caput consumption of any European country. ! 

 Tea has been the national beverage. 



It was known to Brazilian planters that their pro- 

 duct had lost its identity in Kussia by being mixed 

 and sold under other names. They accordingly sent ' 

 to the exposition a commission equippied with a com- 

 plete exhibit of the various grades of coffee grown 

 in Krazil. The commissioners took with them not 

 only samples, but a complete outfit for having it 

 prepared and served by their own cooks. The ex- 

 cellence of the beverage attracted marked attention, 

 both at the exposition and throughout the country. 

 It has become quite the rage, and newspapers have 

 discussed its quality and merits and enlarged upon 

 the extent of its growth in Brazil, recomr ending its 

 direct importation into Kussia as tending to increase 

 and improve in many ways the connnercial relations 

 of the two countries, As a result of this enterjirises 

 H la shM tlmt the KusMau govcrnnu'Ut is considering 

 tile iidvi.'-ability of reducing the duty on coffee imported 

 ilii'ect from Brazil, which hiI! doubtless tend to increase ' 

 hn Con.^umption. — Indian ihrccrii. 



(.•K Japanese tea and tobacco. 



ItV J, TA1CA\AMA. 



The tea-leaves are gathered in May, and quickly 

 dried by exposure to air, and carefully siftc 1 so as 

 to separate dust and fragments of leaves. They are 

 then sub.jec'ed to the steaming. This is done by 

 Introducing the leaves into a wooden tub, the bottom 

 of which is formcil of Immboo meshes, the tub being 

 placed on an iron pau fil!i:d with water and heited 

 from below. After thirty miniitos. when the steam 

 rises up, the wooden cover is taken off, and the I 

 tuutcntB are thoroughly ui!:;ed so as to 8t«nw uni- 



formly all the leaves. This done, the tub is covered 

 again with the lid. This process is repeated, and 

 finally the contents are taken out and cooled. There 

 is a tendency in leaves to adhere to the bamboo rod 

 during mixing. 



Tile leaves are now sufficiently softened to be 

 rolled up lietween the hands by a gentle rubbing, 

 after which the leaves arc subjected to drying. This 

 operation is a most difficult one, inasmuch as the 

 quahty of the product depends in a great measure 

 on the treatment which the leaves undergo during 

 the operation, since it is during drying that that 

 fine colour becomes fixed, with sinmltaneous production 

 of that delicate flavor and agreeable taste which arc 

 wanting in the original leaves ; so that it requires 

 excellent workmen, whose requisite skill is only attained 

 after a long practice. 



The drying is conducted in a shallow rectangular 



box, the bottom of which is made of a thick paper 



I stiffened with starch. The box is placed over a copper- 



I wire gauze supported by iron bars, which are provided 



across the furnace. The furnace is simply a rectangular 



box coated with clay, and has the depth of 2*5 shaku. 



i To begin the operation, first of all a charcoal fire 



is made in the furnace. The rectangular box is now 



jtlaced over it, the leaves are next introduced into 



: the box, and the workman continually rubs them 



between the hands, alternately tossing them up and 



letting them fall until they are nearly dried. Thus 



dried the leaves are further dried by keeping for a 



night in the same furnace after the charcoal fire is 



withdrawn. In large factories numbers of these 



furnaces are arranged in rows, and during the drying 



each furnace is attended by one workman. 



The tea thus dried is, before it is sent to the 

 market, subjected to sorting and sieving. The sorting 

 simply consists in spreading out a certain quantity 

 of tea upon a flat table, .and in removing dust, stems, 

 and other foreign matters by picking them up, which 

 operation is usually done by women and girls. The 

 sorted tea is then sieved. 



The sieves of different meshes are distinguished from 

 one another by the numbers 1, -', 3. etc., and the 

 number of sievings as well as the sieves used vary 

 with the quality of the tea. Thus, in the case of 

 coarse kinds, it is passed twice or thrice through each 

 of 1 and 2, and in the best kinds only once through 

 2, 3, 4, and twice through 3, which has the meshes 

 of nearly o millimeters. The tea thus prepared is 

 preserved in earthenware or metallic pots, in order 

 to preserve it from the moisture. 



lir.AeK TEA. 



Before intercourse with AVestern uatiims was opened 

 this was scarcely known to us, but now at present 

 it is manufactureil, though to a very limited extent, 

 for the purpose of exporting it to foreign countries. 

 The writer states the following description of the 

 process to be due to the report published by order 

 of the board for promotion of industry, agriculture, 

 and coiiiinercc. In preparing the black tea, the leaves 

 from wild tea plants, or those which are cultivated 

 without much care, are used, otherwise there will 

 not be much profit. The leaves after gathering are 

 scattered on a straw mat, and dried by exposure to 

 air. They are then collected, and softened by tossing 

 and clapping between the hands till they become 

 adhesive, The loaves arc then made into a number 

 of balls, whii li are introduced into a large bo.x, which 

 is closed tightly and exposed to the sun for half an 

 hour, when it is brought into the bouse, and allowed 

 to lie in this state for one night. The balls are then 

 taken out, and subjected to the roUiug and drying 

 in the same way as in the preparation of green teai 

 During the operation the workman turns the mass so 

 as to prevent it fr9m being burnt. This process is 

 continued until the leaves break very easily by simply 

 pressing between the fingers, when they are considered 

 to be perfectly dry. The tea thus produced is freed 

 from impurities and stalks, and separated into different 

 kinds by passing throujih sieves having meshes of 

 different sizes. The specimens he chemically examineil 

 are all those prepared lu the celebrated tea- producing 



