104- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST, 



The twist given to the leaf in rolHng plays an absurdly 

 important part in its taking qualities with the public. It 

 is said that Americans are somewhat disinclined to buj- 

 machine rolled teas even of superior quality, preferring the 

 shapes rolled by hand to which they are accustomed. 

 Gun powder tea is simply green tea rolled into little balls 

 and is a Chinese product. Indian growers are told that 

 they may pay less attention to the quality of the leaf if 

 they will pay more attention to the shape ! It is surpris- 

 ing that anyone should prefer tea made by hand by per- 

 spiring Mongols to machine-made tea, no matter what its 

 shape. The broken leaf is considered to be stronger and 

 therefore cheaper for the money than the entire leaf, but 

 here again, the American refuses to take it on account of 

 its appearance. In England broken Pekoes are said to 

 command a slightly higher price than the whole leaf. 



* 

 The Indian method of making tea is to take two spoon- 

 fuls of dry tea for each cup of tea wanted, and upon it 

 pour boiling water letting it stand from half to one 

 minute. In no other way can one obtain so much of the 

 aromatic principle and so little of the bitter and astring- 

 ent elements in a single cup of tea. In the usual way of 

 making tea, the water is allowed to stand upon the leaves 

 too long. A stronger tea is obtained by this method, but 

 it has much more of the tannins in it. 



Witch Hazel Valuable.— According to the Hartford 

 Courant, a witch hazel still has been set up at Essex, and 

 the farmers are afforded a market for witch hazel brush. 

 The price received is about $1 a ton if standing, or $3.50 

 a ton if carried to the mill. One man has contracted to 

 furnish 300 tons of brush. The brush is chopped up into 

 convenient lengths by powerful machinery and is then 

 ready for distillery. In other parts of the country the 

 witch hazel is also being utilized. In Binghamton one ex- 

 tract maker has contracted with a near-by distiller for 

 two hundred barrels of the witch hazel extract. 



