Miiv I, 1886.J 



THE TROPICAL AORieULTURlST. 



751 



not uecessarily rainless, but a period during which the 

 ground never becomes absolutely wet, when we have 

 no doubt the airing of the soil contributes much to 

 many of its particles becoming food for plants, and 

 the moisture being driyen deeper, it extends the limits 

 at which roots can descend, remain healthy, and ful- 

 fil their functions; yet we know there is a limit 

 even to this. 



As a means to a practical end, we consider returns 

 showing the longest periods when the rainfall has 

 been confined to throe mches a month would be of 

 great use and interest to the public, showing as they 

 woidd the effect of rainfall upon perennial cultivations, 

 they being the only ones retaining any real perman- 

 ent value in the island. It would at once indicate 

 the adaptability of lands for special cultivations more 

 then any other test. Where droughts continue over 

 mony months, the grazing of cattle or chena cultiv- 

 ation is the only use to which land can be applied un- 

 less within the reach of irrigation, A mapping-out 

 of the country on a more elaborate plan than that 

 adopted by Mr. Vincent in the map accompanying his 

 report would be very useful, especially if there were 

 various colors for droughts of less than three inches 

 in the month, for, say, period extending over one 

 two, three and four, mouths respectively. It is strange 

 that the list supplied .should contain no returns from 

 ench an important place as the chief town of the 

 Noith-Western I'rovince. The pubhc are under an 

 obligation to the Surveyor-General for the information 

 supplied, and hope that he will continue publishing 

 returns likely to help forward the largely extending 

 and important interests upon which alone, it may be 

 said, the permanent welfare of Ceylon is dependent. 

 — Com. local " Times." 



TEA WITHEKING BY MACHINERY. 

 It has long been disputed that, however possible is 

 may be to iuvent Machinery, suitable for Tea Manut 

 facture, which shall adequately perform the variou- 

 processes through which the leaf has to pass under the 

 system of hand manufacture, the elemental phase of 

 " withering " must be left to Nature, and could not be 

 performed m an equally elficient manner by Art. We 

 have, ourselves, never been able to understand this 

 contention, since there is no special external atmospheric 

 condition necessary for perfect withering except " heat," 

 accurately applied,— or rather perhaps, as it may be 

 niore correctly designated, warmth: such a character 

 of temperature, in other words, which, while ab.soi bin" 

 moistiu-e, should, without any approach to "steaming" 

 the leaf, render it soft and flaccid for rolling, and for 

 generating that fermentation which should ensue on 

 the bruising of the leaf cells. Mere applied ■' heat " 

 alone, w'lll not effect this, as, in the latest introduction 

 tor Machme-witliering patented by Mr. Main, " baking " 

 rather than "withering" is found to be the result 

 «hat IS wanted is heat in motion, in imitation of 

 ordinary atmospheric heat, and such an e.xposure of 

 the leaf to an cjiial temperature, orey aJl its part'' as 

 IS obtained by leaf thinly spread and turned on chan^is 

 over the floor of the room above the factory, by which 

 the warm air from below percolates, as it were, 

 equally through the whole of the leaf on the tray 

 This IS in imitation of the China system, where 'a 

 thorough draught of warm air passes through all the 

 leaf; and not only so, but the leaf is subjected to a 

 process of to.ssmg and beating (so to speak) by which 

 that ec/iia! distribution of warmth so essential, is ob- 

 tained. In the attempts hitherto made at witherin- 

 by machinery, it has been found difficult to keep the 

 leaf sufficiently separated. The tendency has been for 

 the leaf to fall in "heaps" round the revolving 

 cyhnder, and thus e,j„al withering of each leaf has 

 been impossible. Thus, as we say, the idea of adequate 

 withering by machinery has been almost abandoned 

 A new invention, however, is now about to be put 

 before the public by Jlr. W. Gow. of .Messrs. (Jow, 

 AV ilson, and Stanton, Kood Lane, London, Tea I'.rokers 

 which seems to fulfil the conditions required ; and it 

 is claimed for it that while taking away tht sitra 



moisture from wet leaf by artificial heat, none of those 

 chemical constituent parts upon which good Tea 

 depends are carried off; and further, that the process 

 60 srpa-ratfs and exposes the leaf to the operation of 

 dry warm air, that the withering h,v,n, and the tip 

 brought out more fully than by the ordinary process; 

 with the result of good infused color, briskness, flavour' 

 and tippy ajipearaiiee. ' 



■Withering being, iu fact, incipient fermentation, it 

 follows that an extension of the principles of correct 

 withering is followed, on the bruising of the leaf, by 

 natural fermentation, and this Mr. M'. Gow's Invention 

 claims to produce iu one and the same machine. A 

 series of trials made recently by Mr. Gow himself 

 before an assemblage of practical planters in the 

 Darjeelmg aud Terai districts, resulted in an expression 

 of opinion by tho.se gentlemen that exceptionally good 

 infused color, briskness, flavour, and tippy appearance, 

 h.ad been secured by the exhibit made before them ; 

 and that oxydization and fermentation were, by Mr! 

 Gow's machine, fully aud chemically perfected ; and 

 that tea made even from coarse leaf (which was the 

 kind experimented on,— it being then the end of the 

 season), gave a good black appearance, and was 

 generally favourably affected. The Meeting further 

 found that a good twist in rolling was given to the 

 leaf, and, all superfluous moisture having been removed 

 the process of "firing" was much more speedily 

 carried out. 



Mr. Gow asserts that tea subjected to his process 

 will possess better keeping qualities than tea made 

 in the ordinary manner, and, as a special tea expert 

 his opinion on this subject is of high value. ' 



We were shown by Mr. Ciow some tea made towards 

 the end of the present season by his process, and the 

 out-turn was a bright coppery colour, while the infused 

 leaf unfolded itself, showing that all the surface had 

 been fully and equally operated on by the water, aud 

 the greatest nutriment extracted. 



The Chinese do not push the withering of leaves to 

 excess, but only so as to obtain the necessary 

 fermentation, keeping the leaves moist during the 

 whole time, and thus preventing any approach to 

 desiccation, which would result in a poor weak liquor 

 Mr. Gow follows the Chinese system, and can claim' 

 certainly, to be the first to apply Machinery to its 

 practice, for in his Invention warm air softens the 

 leaf, aud fermentation follows on the cells of the leaf 

 being broken by a process of "beating," after the 

 manner adopted by the Chinese, which exposes each 

 leaf to the action of the oxygenic air-current passinc 

 continuously through the machine. Means are proviiled 

 for riyidatiuri the temperature of the air by induction 

 thus following the natural principle of equalily of 

 temperature. 



It is not a small merit to have overcome the diffi. 

 culties which have hitherto presented themselves in 

 regard to mechanical withering, and we congratulate 

 Mr. Gow on having been .so successful where otherii 

 have failed. 



The following Summary will explain the chief points 

 and advantages of this unique Invention : 



(1) That the management of the leaf is under nerfpcf 

 control. " 



(2) Leaf, after being " withered " and " fermented " 

 can be kept for some time without deteriorating ' 



(3) During the last few minutes the leaf is in (he 

 machine, by shutting off the induction of cold air 

 (necessary for regulating the temperature) the tem- 

 perature can be raised to 250", 3nO', or 3.50" Fahr 

 which would set up an action analogous to that obtain- 

 ed by the Chinese in "pinning." 



(i) By the peculiar working of the machine, the 

 leaf-cells are gently broken or bruised, so that the 

 fermentation is quickly set up. 



(5) When the leaf leaves the " M'itherer " it has 

 become colored, and the bloom or down is seen on 

 the leaf. The pekoe ends are multiplied by the con- 

 voluted leaf-buds opening out, and though still soft 

 arc covered with a light yellowish bloom or down Iu 

 the ordmary process of rolling, a coating of tannin is 



