Makch I. 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



607 



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

 anil it should be surrounded witli 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. ^\'heu 

 manure is exposed to tho rain it had bitter not be 

 quickly fermented, as in the process of fermentation 

 the great change which occurs is the increa-ie of soluble 

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

 well that manure wliich has to stand long should be 

 very slowly fermented. In such oases 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 aiiil hastening its decomposition, but 

 unless the heap is under cover or exposed to very little 

 rain, they should not be used. Chief among these 

 substances is y;;pivin. The effect of gypsum is to prevent 

 loss of ammoiua, 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 may also be added 

 with advantage, and even fresh lime may be safely 

 sprinkletl 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 liasteu the conversion of amn\onia into 

 nitric acid, so that nitrate of lime ia 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. — Horth £,iiish Agri- 

 culturist. 



BBA^IL COFFEE IN EUSSU. 



Our producers might follow with profit the example 

 lately set by the Brazilian cotfee-growers. The 

 enormous increase of their product of late years has 

 stimulated them to improve every opportunity for in- 

 creasing its consumption in foreign countries. They 

 took advantage of the international 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 Hussia — 

 only about T.Oio.OiHJ pounds in 1^79, 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 eotfec grown 

 in Brazil. The eommissioners took willi them nut 

 only samples, but a complete outtit for having it 

 prepared and served by their own cooks. The e x- 

 eellence of the beverage attracted marked attention. 

 both at the exposition and throughout the country. 

 It has become quite the rage, and new.spapers have 

 discussed its quality and merits and enlarged uf.on 

 the extent of its growth in Brazil, recomr ending its 

 direct importation into Kussia as tending to increase 

 and improve in many ways the commercial relations 

 of the two countries. As a result of tliis eulerjirises 

 It is sidd that the Kus^ian gnv^rrlmeut is consiilcring 

 ille ivdvisability of reducing the duty on coffee imporlcil 

 direct from Brazil, which «il! doubtless tend to increase 

 it!" consumption. — lAdiun .'/. ici'.i-'j. 



ON JAP.\NE.SK TEA AND TOB.^CCU. 



nV J. TAKAVAMA. 



The tea-1ea\e8 are gathered iu Slay, and quickly 

 ilried by exposure to air, and carefully sif tc I so as 

 to separate dust an 1 fragments of leaves. They are 

 then subjec'ed to the steaming. This is doiic by 

 Introducing the leaves into a wooden tub, the bottom 

 of which is forniul of bamboo me.shen, tho tub being 

 place'l on an iron pan tilled with water and hcited 

 from below. After thirty minutes, when the steam 

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

 tuDttuts are tUurougbly iui»id io as to steam uni- 



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



I again with the lid. This process is repeated, and 

 finally the contents are taken out and cooled. There 



I is a tendency in leaves to adhere to the bamboo rod 



' during mixing. 



I The leaves are now sufficiently softened to be 



j rolled up between the hands by a gentle rubbing, 

 after which the leaves arc subjected to drying. This 

 operation is a most difhcult one, inasmuch as the 

 quality of the product depends iu a great measure 

 on the treatment which the leaves undergo during 

 the operation, since it is during drying that that 



i fine colour heeomes fixed, with sinmltaueous 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 rectaugidar 

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

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

 wire gauze supported by iron bars, which are provided 

 across the furnace. The furnace is simply a rectangular 

 box coateil with clay, and has the depth of '25 shaku. 

 To begin the operation, first of all a charcoal fire 

 is made in the furnace. The rectangular box is now 

 jilaced over it, the leaves are next introduced into 

 the box, and tho workman continually rubs them 

 between the hands, alternately tossing them up and 

 letting them f.all 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 sieviugs as well as the sieves used vary 

 with the (luality of the tea. Thus, in the case of 

 coarse kinds, it is passed twice or thrice through each 

 of 1 and J, and in the liest kinds oidy once through 

 2, 3, -1, and twice through 3, which has the meshes 

 of nearly 3 urillimeters. The tea thus prepared is 

 preserved iu earthenware or metallic pots, in order 

 to preserve it from the moistui'e. 



niAtK TEA. 



Before intercourse with AV'estern nations was opened 

 this was scarcely known to us, but now at present 

 it is manufactured, though to a very limited extent, 

 for the purpose of exporting it to foreign countries. 

 The writer states tho following description of the 

 process to bo due to the report published by order 

 of the board for promotion of industry, agriculture, 

 and commerce. 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 thou collected, and softened by tossing 

 aud clapping bctiveen the band^ till they become 

 adhesive. The loaves arc then made into a uumbtr 

 of balls, whii h arc introduced into a large bo.\, which 

 ia closed tightly and exposed to tho sun for half an 

 hour, when it ir- bruiight into the house, and allowed 

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

 taken out, and subjected to tho rolliug and drying 

 in the same way as in the preparation of green teai 

 During the oi)enition the workman turns the mass so 

 as to prevent it from 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 pro<hiced is freed 

 from impurities and stalks, and separateil into different 

 kinds by jiassing tbrou;;h sieves having meshes of 

 different sizes. The specimens he chemically examined 

 are all those prepared m the celebrated tea- producing 



