86 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



improvement of the quality of the product, and the determination of 

 the relative adaptability of the various sorts of tea for profitable 

 cultivation in this country. In order to satisfactorily carry out this 

 line of work, it became necessary to clear and put in suitable order 

 considerable tracts of land for the extension of the experiment 

 gardens. This has been done to the extent of about 12 acres, three- 

 fourths of which have been finished and planted in tea. An addi- 

 tional 5 acres had been previously prepared, but the imported seed 

 with which it was designed to plant it failed to germinate. Work is 

 now being done on the preparation of 3 or 4 acres more. On the 

 completion of this work it is intended to stop further extensions. 

 This accession of practically 20 acres of land is designed for testing 

 the feasibility of dispensing with artificial enrichment, the cost of 

 which has constituted 15 to 20 per cent of the total expense of tea 

 production. It is also planned to utilize the ground to some extent 

 for cultivating imported varieties of tea of acknowledged worth. 

 Until recently all of the "Pinehurst" gardens had been stimulated 

 with artificial manuring. During the year a number of consignments 

 of oriental tea seed were received, but owing to the long time neces- 

 sary in transporting this seed much of it failed to germinate. The 

 receipt of this seed has enabled the Department to establish four tea 

 gardens at "Pinehurst," two of which are chiefly from seed from 2,000 

 feet and one each from 4,000 and 5,000 feet, respectively, above sea 

 level. Of all the seed imported, that obtained from Darjeeling, in 

 British India, produces the largest, surest, and most valuable tea crop 

 at "Pinehurst." The crop of tea from the gardens this year will 

 aggregate about 4,500 pounds, which is a slight gain for the whole 

 estate over any previous year. It further demonstrates the fact that 

 the plants which were so severely cut down by frost in the phenom- 

 enal freeze of 1898 have entirely recovered. 



During the year special attention has been given to the develop- 

 ment of machinery to aid in handling the tea. It becomes apparent 

 as the work progresses that machinery will be absolutely essential in 

 order to compete with the cheap labor of the Orient. Special machines 

 used in the tea factories of the British colonies have been procured 

 during the year and found to work very satisfactorily. As a result 

 of the improvement in mechanical equipment the quality of the tea 

 has been uniformly better, which is a very encouraging and promising 

 result. Aside from the advantages already enumerated to be secured 

 from the use of machinery, measures of equal importance are to be 

 noted — as, for exami^le, the elimination of possibilities of uncleanli- 

 ness, and even of disease, from the hands of persons who handle the 

 tea. Very satisfactory results have been obtained during the year 

 through the introduction of the "rotary witherer." The mechanical 

 manufacture of black tea has been in extensive use for several years, 

 but only recentty has that of green tea been seriously attempted. It 

 has seemed all the more desirable, as this country is the chief con- 

 sumer of that commodity; but so long as its preparation was entirely 

 by hand its profitable production in the United States would have 

 remained impossible. This new machine, which was invented by 

 Dr. Shepard, has successfully overcome many of the difficulties of 

 handling tea, and has paved the way, in conjunction with already 

 supplied rolling, sifting, and dyeing machines, for the manufacture 

 of green tea in a clean, cheap, and unifoi-m manner. By means of 

 tlie machine invented by Dr. Shepard a sterilization of the solvent 

 ferments of the tea leaf is effected, so that its oxidation is reduced 



